Archive of ‘Uncategorized’ category

Desk breakfast

Keeping variety in my breakfasts can often be tricky as I eat this meal on week days at my office job desk. It’s far too easy to bring the same easy to pack smoothie or home made banana bread. This week I decided to go back to a combo I haven’t really had for over a year.

Organic Greek yoghurt, fresh strawberries and organic granola. I’ve never been a huge fan of processed, sugar laden cereals but when some organic granola grabbed my attention on the shelf I decided to try it out. Sadly I wasn’t thinking too much when I decanted the granola into an air tight container for storage and threw the box into the recycling. Alas I have no idea what brand it was. Hopefully I will recognise it next time I shop! Sweet, crunchy, colourful & surprisingly filling without being too heavy.

Seren Blog granola breakfast

Home Grown Produce

Living off the land and being self-sufficient is a dream for many. I remember watching the 70’s British sitcom ‘The Good Life’ in which the main characters ditch their day jobs to turn their suburban house into a hobby farm. More recently TV show’s such as River Cottage are doing what the fictional Tom & Barbara did for real. It is achievable and I’m all over the idea.

My partner, who is a horticulturist by trade, set up a vegetable garden a few years ago in our back yard. We are super blessed to live on a property so space & equipment were not a challenge. Gardening is his yoga. He’s a total earth boy spending hours with his hands in the dirt. All the planting is done in conjunction with the moon cycles for optimum production and universal balance.

I introduced you to ‘our girls’ the chooks a few months back in this post. The feather kid family has now expanded to turkeys in preparation for Christmas. (Despite being a vego I’m okay with this as our meat birds are living a happy, free range life & gratitude will be given highly for their sacrifice) The egg production has slowed down for winter & I’m finding it hard to fill the demand. It’s a very rewarding to be able to offer ethically and organically produced eggs from happy chickens.

The veggie garden has grown and expanded too, so much we now have surplus supply. In the past we gave most of it away that we couldn’t use ourselves. After watching an episode of River Cottage Australia my partner was inspired by a local community event called a ‘Food Swap.’ The Eastern states have got this down. You rock up with your excess produce & put it on one of the swap tables. Then you go off and pick out what you need from what others have brought. It all seemed to run smoothly and the exchanges worked out fairly. Sadly this is yet to take off properly in WA. Watch this space!

To fill the gap my partner came up with this idea ‘take what you want, pay what you want.’ He kitted out the back of his ute to resemble a vegetable market stall, complete with a home made shelf. Then each Friday he takes his ‘stall’ to his workplace to offer his suburban colleagues a chance to purchase fresh, organic veg at a price they can afford. After posting this picture on Facebook a few of our neighbours dropped by in the evening ‘to shop’ too.

I’m getting the most delight in this by watching how a passionate past time may well turn into something of a grander scale.

With the possible exception of the equator, everything begins somewhere. C. S. Lewis

Love Seren xx

Click on image to enlarge
 ©Seren Holistic Lifestyles Blog 2013
 (please share the love with full credit thanks)

Click on image to enlarge

©Seren Holistic Lifestyles Blog 2013

(please share the love with full credit thanks)

A Chance Encounter

Hello dearest readers. How have you all been? I’m back from my blogging break all refreshed & ready to go. It’s done me the world of good to step back, take some time for myself & just be for a while. There is so much to share with you it’s hard not to write a 3000 words essay right here & now.

I’ll start with a great story about a chance encounter. Whilst away in Melbourne for an extended long weekend I dropped by the Hay House Publishing ‘I can do it’ seminar. One of my favourite authors Doreen Virtue was presenting.  Any Angelic realm fanatic will need no introduction to Doreen. As she was introduced at the event ‘this lady has more decks than the Queen Mary.’

My plan was to get to the conference centre super early to snag a place near the front. However the other few thousand people attending had the same plan. It wasn’t too bad, the prime real estate was gone of course, I did get a good spot near the front but not in the ‘mosh pit.’

This was my first ‘metaphysical’ conference of sorts so I had no idea what to expect so I didn’t expect anything. The lady next to me struck up a conversation. We were both flying solo so it was nice to have a chat before the event kicked off. A fellow Doreen groupie there was no struggle for small talk.

The star of the show did not disappoint. Doreen is an inspiration. She has over come crippling self-doubt & a fear of public speaking to get where she is today. To stand up in front of the world to speak about ‘the invisible’ & not get pulled down by the haters is amazing. Over the two hours Doreen spoke about the Angelics, Indigos, listening to your divine guidance to live a life of light & the effects of the current energy patterns. I certainly could relate to this ten fold. Of course there was card readings! Three thousand hands shot up when asked ‘who’d like a reading?’ A few people also were selected ‘out of the blue’ & given very accurate personal messages. To witness this live was truly mind blowing.

A wonderful morning was wrapped up with a beautiful meditation accompanied by Doreen’s husband on the piano. I sat a while afterwards to absorb and reflect before I slipped away to meet my man for lunch.

I missed out on the afternoon book signing. I didn’t feel like lining up with the masses, I was happy with the time I’d spent there. On my way out I recognised a group of ladies walking a few meters ahead. It was the Wellness Warrior Jess & her gang of fellow holistic bloggers. She looked as fresh faced and healthful as her photos. A little star struck I just kept walking. It felt a bit weird to approach them like a mad, crazy fan & I didn’t really know what I would have said. I acknowledged their presence & was happy to have seen them all for real.

I wasn’t so shy & doubting the next day whilst sitting in the departure lounge of Melbourne airport. Apologies we need to back track a few days now as there is more to the next part of the story and it’s really the best bit.

On our first day whilst wandering the infamous Melbourne lane ways we stumbled across a kooky little shop called ‘The Haunted Bookshop.’ I had to go in. It was awesome. Weird and wonderful books, artifacts and Addams family type décor filled the tiny space. The guy behind the desk could have been Gomez himself.

There was a section on ‘Angels, Fairies and Goddesses.’ I was totally all over it. I noticed one of Doreen’s older books ‘Goddesses & Angels’ peaking out at me. Reaching up to take it I instantly got the highest pitch ringing in my left ear I’ve ever had. It even made me stop still. The book was in my hand but I couldn’t flick through, as it was shrink wrapped. A quick scan of the back cover I just knew I had to get it. I told my partner what had just happened, ‘I have to get this book’ and the ringing stopped.

Fast forward back to the departure lounge. I had the Goddesses & Angels book in my hand luggage the others I’d bought at the event went in our check in. I pulled it out and was just about to start reading when I noticed a tall, sparkly figure dressed in floating hippy clothes sit down in the gate opposite. It was Doreen Virtue. I grabbed my man’s arm pointing to my book ‘the lady who wrote this is right over there.’ Before he’d even said go over I was rummaging in my bag for a pen. There was no hesitation this time I just knew I had to go say hi and get this book signed. The ringing in my ear was definitely a special message. How amazing. I didn’t get to the signing at the seminar so the universe presented me with Doreen in a very personal, chance encounter.

I couldn’t have been happier. Doreen was so gracious and absolutely delighted to sign my book. She even asked if I wanted a photo. Of course I did. (Wish I’d taken my rain coat off now!!) We had a quick chat, did the fan thing, and then I was on my way. These moments are truly special. My intention for the seminar was to get a signing but on the day it just didn’t feel right. I wasn’t disappointed either, some where deep down I knew if I trusted in the powers that be I’d get my wish and I did. When I arrived in Adelaide a few hours later to meet with my mentor one of the first things I told her was “I just met Doreen Virtue in the airport!” What a magical day all round.

Love Seren xx

Seren Doreen Meeting

What to drink?

The other morning when I got to work after a serious early morning sweaty hot yoga class I could not decide how I was going to hydrate myself. I wasn’t thirsty which was a good sign I wasn’t totally dehydrated I just didn’t know what I fancied to drink. The answer? I had one of everything!

My selection was as follows: Voss sparkling water, filtered water with Himalayan sea salt, an Emma & Toms green juice (I didn’t have time to make my own) & a nice cup of hot tea. I kept a round robin going having a sip from each one all morning till I was satisfied. Then is was back onto the herbal tea or plain filtered water for the rest of the day.

Variety is the spice of hydration I think!

Seren Blog drink selection

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