Victoria Moran is an author and lifestyle coach that writes about living with heart and soul in the real world and for the past 10 years she has captured my heart. Her lovely books came into my life when I was a stressed out mom trying to find my place in this world and make my life feel more creative and complete. Don't get me wrong, I love being a mom - but I've always been the kind of person that needs time to herself, to be creative and find meaning in my life. To this day, I carry at least one of her books with me at all times - they are my little teddy bear that I hug when I need some reassurance, so today I proudly present to you a wonderful passage from her book
Creating A Charmed Life: Drink good coffee, eat good food
"Make it a point to eat a minimum of one meal a day sitting at a table and using utensils. Flowers, candles, cloth napkins and dishes that would break if you dropped them are extra credit.
A chalkboard at my favorite cafe admonishes " Drink good coffee, eat good food" I never noticed it until the night of the concert. Another customer, a man in his forties, I'd say, put his cup on top of the upright piano that I'd thought was there just for decoration, or because it was too heavy to move out. He then sat down and started to play - movie themes, Gershwin, Broadway scores, light classics. I was serenaded for an hour for the price of a latte and panini.
As he played I realized that I was immersed in quality - good coffee, good food, good music - and I grieved just a little over all the times I'd settled for less. People who live well drink good coffee - or tea or juice or water or wine. They eat good food: delicious, healthful and nicely presented. They wear good clothes - not necessarily expensive but comfortable, becoming and well maintained. They treat themselves to uplifting films and plays and performances. The subject matter might be somber, even tragic, but the quality of the work can move the spirit just the same. Living well could stand to be more widely practiced. For example, everybody eats, but few people dine. This is such a loss. And because we're in the final sputters of decades of dieting obsession, we have the opportunity to fabricate a new, liberating definition of "good food" for our daughters and sons. Good food is real - that is, it grew, or it's primary ingredients grew. It is edible without benefit of chemistry. Eating good food, like reading good books, is worth sitting down for. It's worth sharing with people you care about or, if you are eating alone, good food is worth savoring - without watching TV, and certainly not while driving a car. " Victoria Moran
Elana's Pantry has a wonderful recipe for gluten free pumpkin cinnamon cheesecake! I have not been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, but I find that when I do eat gluten free foods, my body definitely feels alot better. In addition to Elana's Pantry, make sure to check out Gluten Free Girl's blog as she has alot of wonderful recipes too, and is the person that inspired me to try going gluten free. She is a truly creative writer, her joy in living is absolutely contagious!
After reading about Olivia Rae's weekend with her family, that involved pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes, my daughter and I wanted to try them out - so with the help of our favorite market Trader Joes, I made them for dinner - so delicious, a definite double yum! 
I have to admit that I have yet to try the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks but since I have heard from several people how much they love it - I will give it a try. 
