I am back, Universe...

Querido Universo,

Voltei para Te escrever mais qualquer coisa. Comecei por escrever os desejos para 2015 no meu notebook… mas entretanto desisti. Acho que não tenho 12 coisas para pedir. Ou até tenho, mas tá dificil de regurgitar. Acima de tudo, em 2015 quero-me rir bastante, aquele rir que faz doer a barriga e chorar de alegria. Fazer amizades novas e fortificar antigas, conhecer pessoas fenomenais que tragam um impacto positivo á minha vida (e vice versa). Viajar bastante, pela Europa e America (Norte e Sul). Pelo Mundo em geral. (Nova York, Cuba, Londres, Madrid, Portugal, Las Vegas, etc) Comprar casa em Lisboa e desenvolver um negócio a nível do turismo por Portugal. Que o business que estou a desenvolver com a Eva (O catalista) tenha imenso sucesso e nos traga imensas coisas positivas. Um conforto monetario. Conseguir comprar um apartamento em Vancouver. Trabalhar para uma multinacional que envolver viajar pelo Mundo. Dar o melhor de mim. Receber o melhor daqueles que me querem bem. Amar. Amar muito e ser amada. Construir uma vida/relação sólida, divertida,  harmoniosa com “o tal” (não queria estar aqui a escrever sobre o Mr. Bear, mas visto que sinto que ele é o tal até era porreiro que fosse com ele). Saúde… muita saúde para mim, para a minha família e amigos. Para todas as pessoas em geral. Quero que 2015 traga a minha melhor forma física. Duplicar o valor nas minhas poupanças. Fazer voluntariado. Conseguir um trabalho de sucesso na minha área de estudo e interesse que me pague o dobro do que recebo agora. Ir a Cuba e ao Brasil (de preferencia com ele). Ler mais. E ler bons livros. Aprender mais. Ensinar mais. Dar mais. Rir mais. Crescer/desenvolver-me pessoal e profissionalmente. Motivar mais pessoas. Motivar-me mais. Encontrar a minha paz interior. Fazer mais Yoga. Meditar. Partilhar mais. Dar mais de mim. Mudar de pais. Viver com ele em qualquer lugar do Mundo. E acho que por agora é só… Não são 12 desejos, são praí uns mil e quinhentos… Ahahaha!

Bom Ano, meus amores.

Seren Dipity 

2015

Well, I am thinking this will be the last post for 2014.

Over all, it was a great year. It started a bit shakie when I fell in love with the RCMP, but things did not run as well as I would have liked to, but in the end I learned something and it prepared me to go back home in June solve things with Ivo and be more prepared for Mr. Ursinho.

In February move to my current place, with L. The cat hair kinda drives me crazy but it’s a sweet deal with lots of space. Also went to Seattle and had an amazing time with some friends. In May finally made it to Victoria Island with C. and the dogs. A lovely experience.

In June, went back home and had the most amazing vacation ever. Traveled throughout Lisbon, Algarve, Nice, Ville Franche, Monaco, Cinqueterra, Milan, Lake Como, Menagio, Bellagio and London. In Lisbon had an amazing Serendipity experience with Mr. Ursinho that I will treasure for ever. Spent time with my parents, grandparents and friends back home and still managed to see my cousins in London – nad spend some more days with Mr. Bear. ;)

And after 13 year I completely close the Ivo chapter.

August, my friend Daniella got married in the Okanagan and got the chance to spend time with my friends Garry and Adrianna that had moved back to Toronto couple years ago. Great laughs!  

September: back to school with 2 classes at the same time – it was a challenge but managed to finish with a B and B+.

For the past 3 months I have been more appreciative of all the things I was able to conquer so far, as well as my amazing and supportive family and friends. Was there negative points? Yes there was, although I choose to focus mostly on the positives and look to the negatives as learning experiences. Look forward for 2015 and the "amazingness" it will bring. For all of you I truly wish a Happy New Year. Make sure you add Portugal to your traveling bucket list (I can help planning if you need).

Vive, luta, sempre!

And on that note, I would like to leave you guys with a TED Talk playlist to inspire your 2015 resolutions. HERE.

In 2015, I want... updating

- Plant a tree
- Play Paintball
- Go to Mexico/Cancun/Hawaii or Cuba
- Open my own business
- Save a minimum of 20,000
- Organize for 15 minutes each day
- Not be scared of saying what I think
- Read more (at least one book a month)
- Volunteer 
- Buy an apartment
- Do at leat 3 cleanses per year
- Go to the Gym a minimum of 3x a week
- Find love (breath-taking-consuming-can't-live-without-each-other-love) that is mutual
- Have lots of sex (hihihi)
- Move in with you (that Love)
- Get a bicycle
- Hike
- Do more Yoga
- Go to NYC
- Go to Vegas
- Spend time with you anywhere in the world (if all goes well sooner rather than later - hence in London February 2015)
- Leave FB completely


 

Could not agree more...

"This is how we date", a post form a young writer Jamie Varon could not express better how I feel people nowadays look into the "dating scene". And then I think of you... how we met in such a chaotic night downtown Lisbon. How I ended up loosing a plane and staying with you in London for extra days was perfection. How insane and romantic was bumping into each other downtown London during your lunch break - I did not even know you worked there. And how I am starting to feel like we lost our momentum... How I think of you and my heart doesn't race anymore, because my efforts seem bigger than yours to keep this going.

We don’t commit now. We don’t see the point. They’ve always said there are so many fish in the sea, but never before has that sea of fish been right at our fingertips on OkCupid, Tinder, Grindr, Dattch, take your pick. We can order up a human being in the same way we can order up pad thai on Seamless. We think intimacy lies in a perfectly-executed string of emoji. We think effort is a “good morning” text. We say romance is dead, because maybe it is, but maybe we just need to reinvent it. Maybe romance in our modern age is putting the phone down long enough to look in each others eyes at dinner. Maybe romance is deleting Tinder off your phone after an incredible first date with someone. Maybe romance is still there, we just don’t know what it looks like now.

When we choose—if we commit—we are still one eye wandering at the options. We want the beautiful cut of filet mignon, but we’re too busy eyeing the mediocre buffet, because choice. Because choice. Our choices are killing us. We think choice means something. We think opportunity is good. We think the more chances we have, the better. But, it makes everything watered-down. Never mind actually feeling satisfied, we don’t even understand what satisfaction looks like, sounds like, feels like. We’re one foot out the door, because outside that door is more, more, more. We don’t see who’s right in front of our eyes asking to be loved, because no one is asking to be loved. We long for something that we still want to believe exists. Yet, we are looking for the next thrill, the next jolt of excitement, the next instant gratification.

We soothe ourselves and distract ourselves and, if we can’t even face the demons inside our own brain, how can we be expected to stick something out, to love someone even when it’s not easy to love them? We bail. We leave. We see a limitless world in a way that no generation before us has seen. We can open up a new tab, look at pictures of Portugal, pull out a Visa, and book a plane ticket. We don’t do this, but we can. The point is that we know we can, even if we don’t have the resources to do so. There are always other tantalizing options. Open up Instagram and see the lives of others, the life we could have. See the places we’re not traveling to. See the lives we’re not living. See the people we’re not dating. We bombard ourselves with stimuli, input, input, input, and we wonder why we’re miserable. We wonder why we’re dissatisfied. We wonder why nothing lasts and everything feels a little hopeless. Because, we have no idea how to see our lives for what they are, instead of what they aren’t.

And, even if we find it. Say we find that person we love who loves us. Commitment. Intimacy. “I love you.” We do it. We find it. Then, quickly, we live it for others. We tell people we’re in a relationship on Facebook. We throw our pictures up on Instagram. We become a “we.” We make it seem shiny and perfect because what we choose to share is the highlight reel. We don’t share the 3am fights, the reddened eyes, the tear-stained bedsheets. We don’t write status updates about how their love for us shines a light on where we don’t love ourselves. We don’t tweet 140 characters of sadness when we’re having the kinds of conversations that can make or break the future of our love. This is not what we share. Shiny picture. Happy couple. Love is perfect.

Then, we see these other happy, shiny couples and we compare. We are The Emoji Generation. Choice Culture. The Comparison Generation. Measuring up. Good enough. The best. Never before have we had such an incredible cornucopia of markers for what it looks like to live the Best Life Possible. We input, input, input and soon find ourselves in despair. We’ll never be good enough, because what we’re trying to measure up to just does not fucking exist. These lives do not exist. These relationships do not exist. Yet, we can’t believe it. We see it with our own eyes. And, we want it. And, we will make ourselves miserable until we get it.
So, we break up. We break up because we’re not good enough, our lives aren’t good enough, our relationship isn’t good enough. We swipe, swipe, swipe, just a bit more on Tinder. We order someone up to our door just like a pizza. And, the cycle starts again. Emoji. “Good morning” text. Intimacy. Put down the phone. Couple selfie. Shiny, happy couple. Compare. Compare. Compare. The inevitable creeping in of latent, subtle dissatisfaction. The fights. “Something is wrong, but I don’t know what it is.” “This isn’t working.” “I need something more.” And, we break up. Another love lost. Another graveyard of shiny, happy couple selfies.
On to the next. Searching for the elusive more. The next fix. The next gratification. The next quick hit. Living our lives in 140 characters, 5 second snaps, frozen filtered images, four minute movies, attention here, attention there. More as an illusion. We worry about settling, all the while making ourselves suffer thinking that anything less than the shiny, happy filtered life we’ve been accustomed to is settling. What is settling? We don’t know, but we fucking don’t want it. If it’s not perfect, it’s settling. If it’s not glittery filtered love, settling. If it’s not Pinterest-worthy, settling.
We realize that this more we want is a lie. We want phone calls. We want to see a face we love absent of the blue dim of a phone screen. We want slowness. We want simplicity. We want a life that does not need the validation of likes, favorites, comments, upvotes. We may not know yet that we want this, but we do. We want connection, true connection. We want a love that builds, not a love that gets discarded for the next hit. We want to come home to people. We want to lay down our heads at the end of our lives and know we lived well, we lived the fuck out of our lives. This is what we want even if we don’t know it yet.
Yet, this is not how we date now. This is not how we love now. 

Me neither...

Merry, Merry Christmas...

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, with tons of Love, Joy, Happiness and a lot of great food. Specially a Christmas that we can eat all we want and not gain a single gram. Ahhahaha!
This year I will be getting drunk with my friends on the 24th and cooking and serving dinner at the Salvation Army on the 25th. Soooo excited. Can't wait.

Feliz Natal a Todos. Specially to all my family and you, Ursinho... Miss you a ton. Hopefully next Christmas we will be spending it together in a warm place somewhere in the World.

Seren Dipity

Goal 2 - Plant

Next year I want to plant a tree.  Grow parsley, cilantro and mint.

Em 2015 quero plantar uma arvore, salsa, coentros e menta.

Santaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa II

Please? Please? Pleeeease???

Vest

Stradivarius

25.99 Euros

Feather Skirt

Bershka

45,99 Euros

Leather White Jacket

Bershka

45.99 Euros

My food habits - replacements

As I mentioned before, over 1 year ago I decided to start a weekly vegetarian diet. Not only because I had stomach problems but because I felt much better when not eating most animal products. Nowadays I can tell you I found great balance. I am not vegan or 100% vegetarian. I avoid to eat out and plan my meals on a weekly basis (Sunday evenings I cook 2-3 different meals to eat during the week). I lost some weight and at 30 years old I feel better than ever. Today I am going to provide you guys with a list of some major replacements in my cooking habits that made a big difference.

Regular milk with organic almond, rice or coconut milk. 

I never liked milk in the first place, and I drank it mostly with coffee or chocolate. Nowadays I have at least 1 cup a day with my morning smoothie. I tend to buy this brand also at costco. When it goes on sale I pay about $8.50 for 6.

Olive oil with avocado oil (or organic coconut oil)

I like olive oil. Don’t get me wrong. It’s very healthy and all those things we know. But I felt it was a bit heavy and fatty. I find Avocado oil lighter. You cannot taste the difference. Guarantee you. I get mine at costco for about $12 a bottle (1.5 L)

Regular butter with Vegan Butter. 

I used to be a big butter eater. But with my food habits completely started leaving butter alone. I'll use it casually for cooking, baking or on toast. I guarantee you you can barely tell the difference. Normally purchase it at Trader Joe around $3.50 a container. 

Normal pasta with Quinoa and Brow Rice Noodles

This was major. Specially because it's a very tasty and lighter pasta. I also get it at TJ's in the US for around $2.50 a package. Now I don't feel so guilty when I eat pasta. You can even get the lasagna base. Yuuuummmm! Half the calories, amazing flavor!

There might be couple more things I replaced, but I cannot recall at this moment. I'll keep you posted. 

Challenge: Replace some of these items in your diet for 1 month and let us know what your think? :) 

Love, 

Seren Dipity 

Thinking Out Loud

 

 

Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud

When your legs don't work like they used to before
And I can't sweep you off of your feet
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?

And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70
And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23
And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe just the touch of a hand
Well, me—I fall in love with you every single day
And I just wanna tell you I am

So honey now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
That maybe we found love right where we are

When my hair's all but gone and my memory fades
And the crowds don't remember my name
When my hands don't play the strings the same way
I know you will still love me the same

'Cause honey your soul could never grow old, it's evergreen
And, baby, your smile's forever in my mind and memory
I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe it's all part of a plan
Well, I'll just keep on making the same mistakes
Hoping that you'll understand

But, baby, now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart
Thinking out loud
That maybe we found love right where we are

So, baby, now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Oh, darling, place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
That maybe we found love right where we are
Oh, baby, we found love right where we are
And we found love right where we are

Santaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....

Mango 

Satin gown

89.95

Mango

Floral-print flowy dress

 $109.95

Mango

Zebra faux fur jacket 

$149.95

Caí em mim...

Hoje fiquei a dormir em casa da Carolina. Amanhã tenho que tomar conta dos cães e como fomos as duas jantar acabei por aqui ficar. Ela está no quarto no skype com o Matt. O tal rapaz que conheçeu no retiro de yoga. Vejo (e oiço-os) ali na conversa e uma triste "realization" cai sobre mim: starting to think you are not that into me. E sinto-me triste. A semana passada quase não trocamos mais do que meia duzia de mensagens. Desde 6f que não sei nada de ti. É tal e qual como diz o Fernando Alvim: quado se realmente quer, tem-se sempre tempo. Os dias viram noite. E deixa-me assim, cabisbaixa. Desconsolada. Com o coração durido, mais uma vez. Mas também sei que não temos nada definido. Mas a minha mente e o meu espírito aventureiro e apaixonada atraiçoam-me sempre. Volto a deixar tudo nas mãos do universo. Gosto de ti. Demais da conta. Sei que te quero e quero construir todas aquelas coisas que adormeço a imaginar. Não tenho dúvidas, but I can only do so much. Por isso assim te liberto. 

Your Portuguese Nurse 

Humpf!

Hã? Já viste, ursinho? Mais um dia e tu nada… Zero. Nicles batatoides. Já te enviei o presente de Natal e tudo. Em vez do livro do Saramamgom, sabes o que é que merecias… Merecias… merecias era que te embrulhasse um cóco da Maya em papel manteiga e que te enviasse como se fossem trufas de chocolate caseiras. Humpf! #disappointed #yousuck #Imissyou