More About Decorating, Eating Well and Crochet Lessons

I've been enjoying following these Learning to Crochet lessons. Even though I crochet I've been learning things I didn't know. I'm hoping she will do a knitting one after this is done. I would also like an advanced crochet course, so after I finish this I'll go looking for that. I'm sure Ravelry has something. I've found so many fun projects on Pininterest like this tutorial on a new stitch, the star stitch. I'm still working on Christmas gifts. I feel so smug when I see people say OMG Christmas is only 12 weeks away. I've got 2 projects done and am working on 2 more.

I got some of the little pumpkins to add to my decor. I like having something real. I can't afford to buy too much this year but I got one big one to make into a jack-o-lantern for the porch. I like to layer my decorating. I start out with the basics and then start to add the details. I was thinking about how decorators say you should use bold statements, but at this time of year I think small vignettes are more intimate and cozy.

I got this photo off of Pininterest, isn't it gorgeous. It originated at sunsurler.tumble.com, but when I went to the site it was blank.

I've been reading these French women books, "French Women Don't Get Fat" by Mireille Guiliano, her cookbook "The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook" and "French Women For All Seasons" also by her. She gives good advise on moderation and how to do that, not totally giving up things but keeping them for special treats. She claims that the French woman eats 3 meals a day and no snacking also they eat 3 or more courses but small portions. The idea is to enjoy your treats like dessert in the context of a meal. They take a long time to eat a meal and linger over the table talking and slowly making their way through these different courses.

 In her second book she does admit that these ways are changing and you are seeing more overweight people in France. People don't want to make the time for a real meal in the middle of the day like they use to and fast food is becoming more popular with the young. The culture use to really dictate what people did but I guess things are changing.

What I got out of the books is what I'm trying to do in my life right now, to slow down, pay attention to detail and try as much as I can afford to not compromise on quality. I think we eat way too much and also waste a lot and what I would like to do is to make my meals little jewels that are beautiful and delicious like the tapas idea. However that is a tall order and I'm not sure I can do it but that is my goal, baby steps.

 I have a lot of bad habits to change and I don't know if I have the energy to do that. The whole low carb/diabetic diet just gets my down sometimes and I see the French way of eating as a way to put the pleasure back into meal planning and eating.

 I've been struggling with my food budget and making it work. One of the things the French do is buy for only a day or two and I've been trying to shop only twice a month. I'm finding that it's not really working that well for me. It really helped me to stay on budget when I stuck to it, but I would find myself at the end of 2 weeks eating what I could scrounge together and it wasn't all that appetising. That is a problem for me because I will tend to snack instead of eat a meal. So now I'm going to see if I can shop more often at least for things like fresh produce and still stay on my budget.

We can learn from other cultures, but put our own twist on it. I have another book about eating like the Italians and may take a look at that one again. I think it would benefit me if I could learn to widen the types of food I eat and try some new flavors and ethnic cuisines. My gd's love sushi but I have felt I didn't like the flavors of this cuisine, maybe I need to experiment a little more. I have to keep everything low carb, but I can still learn from others. I'm learning to use my low carb techniques on all recipes. It just a matter of substitution when it's possible.

So Bon Appitite.
Linda