Things I'm Super Into Right Now - August 2014

Podcasts

I'm thinking about starting a podcast. Because I am super into podcasts right now. Ever since my car radio got stolen by the guys who towed my car, I've been listening to various podcasts on my iPad when I'm driving and I am really into it. It kind of feels like I am just a very quiet girl (silent) in a room full of really cool and funny interesting people and I'm listening to their conversation and we are all friends. Except no one ever says anything to me directly and I just chuckle at their jokes from the corner like a creep.

I've worked my way through almost every single episode of This American Life ever produced, so I've branched out and have become obsessed with Kurt Braunohler's show The K Ohle on Nerdist.com. I mean, literally obsessed. I listen to it when I'm working or driving and/or other times. So get on that because it's good. It's essentially just two people having a conversation in his house in LA, but refer to the paragraph above for my reasons for listening.

Travel

That's news to you, right? No, it isn't. Because I am even more obsessed with travel than I am with podcasts. (Sidenote: Thinking of combining travelling and podcasting) I've had an amazing travel year so far and the next couple of months are going to be a huge vibe. In October, Keenan and I are going to Greece for two weeks! I decided to go for the Tbex Conference in Athens and so we're making a holiday out of it.

We'll be there in like, early Autumn, so all your visions of beach days should be replaced by visions of "cultural excursions". I plan on dragging Keenan through Athens for at least one day of just straight-up eating our way through the city. Then we've got about 4 more days in Athens and then we're probably going to Santorini and Lesvos. Anyone got any good recommendations for Greece?

Wellness

With a lot of travel comes a lot of good, good food and that means that I've put on a small child's worth of weight this winter. The other day I saw my naked body in the mirror (despite trying to avoid it at all costs) and audibly went "euwgh". Not good. So I've been making an effort to get back onto the health wagon whenever I'm at home. Eat like a queen on trips and like a... I don't know, healthy person, at home. Noaksists can get out of town because I will never give up carbs, but I've been trying to eat less stuff that contains preservatives, gluten, wheat and sugar. So basically I'm trying to eat a lot of veggies and raw stuff.

I found this recipe for chia seed breakfast pudding and it's really good. Well, it's kind of good. It's also kind of gross, but I'd say over all I'm into it. Wellness Warehouse on Kloof is my kryptonite and I have been feasting on their new Sexy Food menu. Veggie patties with about a billion kinds of sprouts and micro herbs, guacamole, salsa and some delicious dahl. For R60, which is about 1/100th of what I spend every time I go into that place. They also do take-home veggie patties. Which brings me to my next point.

Flexitarianism

I have eaten and loved meat my whole life. Lamb, beef, pork, chicken, prawns...any animal! But recently I've been trying to live a more balanced lifestyle and to be honest, eating meat every single day is not that balanced. I know this sounds crazy but I had this dream where I was standing on the beach watching fishermen pull in these huge fishing nets and there were hundreds of seals caught up in them and the seals had all drowned and I woke up crying so hard.

So that made me think about humans and how much we demand vs how much we need. It's easy to throw stones at the companies who bring us fish and meat but then we're happy to pay R30 per kilogram for bulk pork as long as it's available. So I'm trying to reduce my demand. I don't think everyone should give up eating meat. I just think we could be eating less meat, of a higher quality. It's more expensive eating meat that was raised locally in a way that won't make your stomach flip, so just eat less meat.

So that's where I am right now. I still love meat and I'll eat it when I know it's not from a farm somewhere far away where this poor animal lived caged up for its entire life so that I could eat it. I'm experimenting with veggie meals and it's fun and stimulating. Check out my Veggie Food Porn Pinterest board for ideas.

Fitness

There's something about eating healthy that makes you want to get back out there and exercise. It's been a lazy winter for me, but I'm slowly getting back into running and yoga a couple of times a week. I'm not huge on group fitness or being super stiff all the time, so a mix of a 5km run and a couple of hot yoga sessions a week is ideal for me.

Keenan and I ran the Greenpoint Park Run on Women's Day and it was awesome! It's a free run every Saturday at 8am and anyone can join. Adidas invited me to try out a pair of their new Energy Boost shoes and they definitely made a huge difference. That's the trick to running that no one taught me - you need a good pair of shoes! Especially if you're not a natural runner, like me.

Me Time

I know it seems like I'm always chilling, but actually, I'm always working. Between my freelance work and my blog, I am basically always either at meetings, writing, or out experiencing things to write about. When people get home from their 8-5 job, they probably eat and watch some TV and chill. But when I'm finished my 7-5 job, I normally have something to do to write about, so it's not often that I get some actual me time.

My favourite way to relax is a massage. I found Ruan Thai Massage & Spa in Long Street about 3 years ago and I haven't gone anywhere else since. The venue is very Thai and the therapists are all from Thailand. I recently went for a treatment and the smells of the Thai massage oils mixed with the sounds of Thai music took me right back to my last holiday there in 2012.

For the next three months, you can book a couples treatment for R500 if you tell them you heard about them on Tails of A Mermaid.

Wine

No amount of healthy living could ever make me give up alcohol. I really only drink beer and wine, but man do I love it. I don't know if you know this about me, but I actually collect wine. I mean, I drink it pretty much as fast as I can buy it, but I have a wine rack at home that is pretty much my pride and joy. Recently I discovered Peter Falke, Post House and Buchard Finlayson.

Write those three names down, because the next time you're staring at a menu or a shelf full of wine, you can pick any one of those and rest assured that you made the right choice.

So anyway, that's pretty much my life right now. I mean, it's kind of boring to read about unless you actually like this blog. Leave a comment and tell me what you're into or if you think there's something that I'd be into.