The Break Up

It's been a while since I've even thought about doing a new blog post because some other things have taken priority lately. Recently, my boyfriend and I called it quits. If I said it was a complete shock then it wouldn't quite be the truth, but I certainly wasn't prepared for the when, why, and how. So now here I am in a scenario I didn't think would happen, especially with someone I lived with and shared a life with. Bottom line: our life goals didn't line up anymore and things that are very important to me are no longer important to him. This stuff happens and it's sad, but every day life moves on and so in the spirit of moving on I have decided to share a little bit about what has happened to my food habits as a result of this mini-crisis.

Break-ups are a fact of life and they definitely impact how we go about our everyday activities, or don't as was the case for me. Priorities disappear and for me that meant that I no longer had the desire to cook. It didn't make any sense to go to the store with a full list in hand and get excited about planning all my meals for the week because I was going to eat them alone. This is the real problem. This is what sucks about break ups. For a period of time, you lose the motivation to do the things you love to do or even need to do, like eat real food. I ordered pizza and ate off of it for about 3 days...not exactly something I would do under normal circumstance, but these weren't normal circumstances now were they? Fortunately, my good pals Ben and Jerry knew just what I needed: Cannoli ice cream. WARNING: That stuff is so good you might finish the pint before you realize it. It's probably a good thing that it's a limited production item. 

Ok so obviously I had to do something to break out of this rut. I was still exercising as much as I could considering that I hadn't been eating very well or very much, but we all know the post break-up body is the best motivation to get back out there and live life.  I planned out my meals for the week and went to the store to stock up on healthy foods I could eat without much preparation ie. fruits and veggies and healthy packaged snacks. Despite my efforts, I still didn't want to sit down and eat dinner alone so I am now trying a completely new tactic. I'm redecorating my dining room to make it feel more cheery, brighter, and somewhere that I feel comfortable sitting and eating every night, with or without company. The old dining room decor was all about him. We framed all of the posters from shows he directed and hung them up in the dining room. That was not what I needed to move on with my life or my cooking so I took them all off the walls and did something dramatic. It's not quite finished yet, but so far I'm loving it!

Before: White walls really made for a boring room and it washed out the beauty of the dining table my father so lovingly finished for me

After: BRIGHT! Definitely a change from the dull white and you can see that I did some stenciling in a copper patina glaze to make it look a little glamorous! It's the perfect room to enjoy a healthy homemade meal

So far, it's worked. I love my dining room and I'm excited to eat my meals in there every night. It was worth all the work to make sure that I can still enjoy cooking and eating healthy meals. My focus now is on how accomplished I feel for doing something all by myself and all for me, instead of dwelling on what is now my past.

Now everyone go cook yourselves a fabulous and healthy meal tonight despite who may or may not be joining you!