Hello Beautiful People!

Are you hungry? I hope so because you are getting a hands-on demonstration video on how to make chilaquiles! My husband agreed to share his special recipe from page 12 of my novel, The Amazing Adventures of Selma Calderón. He even gives you tips on picking the best avocados.

Here are the ingredients:

All measurements are approximate based upon the quantity in the demo video.

4 Eggs

Tortilla Chips

Mild Olive Oil

Tomato Sauce (8 oz)

3 chipotle peppers (canned + seeds removed)

salt and pepper

Serve with avocado plus optional cotija cheese + cilantro

I hope you enjoy the video! If you make them, please tag me on Facebook or Instagram. We would love to see your photos!

Onward to this week’s resources:

1. Chef Magic + Human Condition: Award-Winning Chef, Samin Nosrat is the author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking who experienced another level of fame with her Netflix specialof the same title.  Here’s a beautiful New Yorker interview titled, “I fail almost every day”  that touches upon many aspects of her life, including living in the in-between.
2. Music: Wash it Away – I stood in the ocean listening to this powerful song. I urge you to give yourself this gift by Nahko + Medicine for the People. I have so many favorite lines. Among them, “Today is a good day for my ego to die.” I am SO EXCITED about seeing him in concert next month!  Also, check out Garden and Slow Down too. And I’ve shared it before, but I’ll share Dragonfly again because it kept me going during one of the most difficult times of my life.

3. On Women: This article titled: Matriarchies are Not Just a Reversal of Patriarchies is a deep analysis of what happens when women rule.

4. Change Your Pants, Change Your Life was the original title of this TEDx talk which is now called “Dressing for Confidence and Joy” — really though, it’s about this idea of inside out congruence. How do your insides match your outsides? It’s touching, funny and practical. Check out Stasia Savasuk’s take on life–it’s delightful.

5. Hair and Identity: I was thrilled to see Christin Brown featured in a recent issue of Forbes. She and her wife own the LunaBella Makeup and Hair salon. I met Chris and her wife Ashley at their other AMAZING business, Pura Luna Women’s Apothecary — which by the way, ships amazing her teas and so much more. They provide a vital home and sense of community to many of us. I’m inspired by their work, their leadership and general bad-a**ery when it comes to being bosses.

What you can do to help:

1. Share, baby, share this post. People NEED chilaquiles, right?!
2. Make chilaquiles!
3. Make a new moon intention — go ahead WISH for something beautiful no matter when you read this.
4. Let yourself feel the feelings this week. I’m learning more about what’s up energetically and folks keep telling me, it’s Pisces, on top of Pisces, on top of Pisces. And I’m all, “tell me what that means.” And from what I can tell, we take that watery energy and feel the feels. Cry if you need to cry–pay attention to what comes up, experience it and then let go and be cleansed. My riff on all of this. April Elliot Kent of Big Sky Astrology has a great post called, “Pisces New Moon: Surviving Quicksand.” There are many more experts out there like, Dr. M. Ruth McKants, Karen M. Rose, Kari Samuels, Vanessa Couto and Alex Myles.

And remember, find magic in the everyday! There are clues everwhere! For real.

Check out this video invitation!

Love, love, love people! We are ready for this week…I promise you! And you are invited to join me for a virtual Valentine’s Day *lunch*– I want to celebrate with you!

Here’s the plan:

When: Friday, February 14, 10am-11am PT – Recording available too in case you can’t make it live! (Check out the time zone converter to calculate your local time zone.)

Where: Zoom – link + phone number emailed to you upon registration.

What: Virtual Valentine’s Celebration – lunch, tea, dinner or snack depending upon your time zone – there will be a recording that you can watch at your leisure! The basics are: I will ground us, pull oracle cards, do a poetry reading and circle us with some gorgeous love intentions and share some of the ways I keep self-love going in these times.

Why: I want to bring some extra special magic and love to your Valentine’s Day! Check out the video to learn more.

Register: Send $14 payable via Venmo or PayPal – make sure to add your email in the notes section with your payment. You can even gift the experience to a loved one!

And here are some magical Monday resources for the week:

A. Music: Become a Mountain by Dan Deacon is my heart’s song this week. My brother sent it to me and I listened at sunset while walking the dog. I found myself sobbing with joy at the beauty of the world. I love the crescendo at the 2:36 mark. Do yourself a favor and listen.

B. Movement: I love the “Natural Movement” movement! Here’s a recent blog post you might enjoy.  I’m also a fan of Petra Fisher’s Movement Revolution newsletter and Instagram. Check out her blog for some excellent articles. I encourage you to sign up for her newsletter. Her last one featured “9 Paths to Healthy Natural Movement”:

1. Walk every day – bodies need to walk. Period. It’s the bread and butter. If you don’t have posterior push off, work on walking technique but still walk. In minimal shoes.

2. Squat every day – Squatting is not optional. If you don’t have a full squat, spend your time on squat prep.

3. Hang every day – Just like walking and squatting1 Hanging is a key movement nutrient. Use as many shoulder prep exercises and modifications as you need to build strength – these count too.

4. Transition to minimal shoes – modern shoes mess up your feet and the rest of your body. If you do nothing else do this.

5. Use less furniture – more movement, no extra time needed. This is a no brainer as far as I’m concerned.

6. Improve your alignment – how you move matters and how you move all day long matters the most. This is like weight lifting technique for real life.

7. Mobilize your joints – Mobility makes everything better. You’ll squat, walk and hang better, alignment will be easier, your joints will be stronger, your balance will be better.

8. Exercise outside the gym – Packing in mini-bouts of exercise and movement will feed your cells the movement they need.

9. Learn to release tension – Most of us are great at creating tension and terrible at releasing it. That’s super not cool. Releasing is a movement skill and you need it.

C.  Refeeding Symptoms Podcast Episode: Caroline Dooner, author of the F*ck It Diet interviews Anna Sweeney, MS, CEDRD-S, who specializes in eating disorder recovery, Health at Every Size and Intuitive Eating. She shares her own experience living with chronic illness and navigating wellness culture. This interview is especially poignant if you’ve ever found yourself restricting your food in any way. I raise my hand having tried Weight Watchers, Paleo, Whole 30–you name it. I’ve finally come to the point of eating what my body needs and wants.  I am happy and have tons of extra energy because I’m not spending it obsessing over what’s on my plate. Now clearly you know I still LOVE whole foods and think that eating what comes from the earth is our best bet and still, we can indulge and enjoy–food allergies not withstanding. Refeeding is a concept that’s new to me–it’s our body’s adjustment to trying foods that we cut out previously. You can listen to this episode on Stitcher and iTunes. (And to quote Caroline, “This podcast is exceedingly casual & I spend a good amount of episodes having conversations with my dog. You have been warned.”)

I do hope you’ll join me on February 14th! And if you can’t and you sign up, you’ll get the recording!

Here’s how you can help:

1. Share this blog post with someone who might want or need company on Valentine’s Day!
2. Move your body and try one of Petra’s approaches above.
3. Write yourself a love note. It is simple–pick 1-3 things about you that you love. If this is hard, take a look at yourself as a child (even in your mind’s eye) and remember something delightful–what you played, ate or sang. The note can be a letter, a post-it or even tapped out on your phone. Trust me, this exercise is as comforting as a cup of hot chocolate.

Much love and remember, Find Magic in the everyday, there are clues everywhere!

Welcome one and all to the land of unconditional love — to your heart and mine! I made you a 2-minute video in Carmel-by-the-Sea!

Here is to your week of beauty:

1. One of my favorite poets: Terry Spencer Edwards – read two poems here.

2. One of my favorite books: Zahrah the Windseeker – Nnedi Okorafor. A lovely podcast interview by Yin Change of 88 Cups of Tea is here.

3. Shaman Durek speaks unconditional love here in a great DENtalks LIVE podcast – stick with it – trust me. For more on Shaman Durek, check out his site.

Bring your light into this moment and know, the world is better because you are in it.

Here’s how you can help:

1. Write the words: I love you in a text, on a piece of paper, with sidewalk chalk out in the world.

2. Delight in the delicious: indulge in something you love.

3. Read a poem!

And remember: Find magic in the everyday. There are clues everywhere!