I have always been a complete sucker for sunrises. A smile is brought to my face when I fill my lungs with the misty, crisp air of the morning. I am fortunate enough that I am able to witness many different sunrises every day while driving to La Jolla. I mention many different sunrises because they are all different. Every morning I observe a spectrum of different colors, a multitude of different cloud shapes and sizes, varying temperatures and also how each sunrise inflicts a different emotional response upon myself.

In other words you can say I am a morning person. To tell you the truth, I have been a morning person ever since I was little. I’m always the first to get up on the weekends or during a slumber party. I love to get up at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise or go for a run with my dog. I mean whats better than something free, right? Sunrises and sunsets occur every day free of charge, so how could you possibly want to miss out? Sunrises paint the sky with breathtaking pinks and sunsets with astounding peaches, from cool midnight-navy skies to the polar opposite… warm pink and vibrant orange.

This week I thought of how sunrises and their progression of colors is very similar to the progression of childhood and becoming an adult. As I grow older I hope to become wiser, responsible, and of course more knowledgable. The fear and stress of college and getting “good grades” occupied my mind. As the third quarter of this school year takes full progression my endurance is running low, my pace is slowing, and I am becoming weak and more tired; a runner’s worst nightmare. I am in desperate need of some R&R… i.e. spring break, get here sooner.

But today, as I took in the sunrise with those golden yellows and tangy oranges, I stopped. I told myself to breathe, step back, and forget all of the stressors and decompress. So this morning, instead of studying in the car, I watched the sunrise for the millionth time, enjoying every second of the peacefulness.

Readers, as I said before I am a morning person. Which means breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. As I promised myself my blog would be about not only clothing but also my cooking. If you don’t know me well, I live a Paleo lifestyle. No bread or dairy, however, I do cheat with cheese… how scandalous of me. I only eat white cheese though. I like protein and lots of it. Gimme cheese and meat and I’m a happy camper. I do still cook for my family though which means they still eat bread and pancakes and basically normal carbohydrate filled foods, which if you ask me is a-okay—just not something I choose. I just make these foods the Paleo way. Almond flour and coconut flour are my BFF’s as well as every vegetable you could possibly think of, i.e. last night’s cauliflower pizza (instead of dough I use cauliflower).

So this week I’m featuring my favorite… breakfast.

FUN FACT 1: Breakfast is the only meal I do not cook in heels. I usually prepare meals after I am dressed and ready for the day or just getting home from a long day at school therefore I’m in heels 90% of the time. Friends: can I be honest with you? Cooking in heels makes it 1000 times easier to cook, no joke. When you are my size it makes things really hard to reach for things. Cooking is a sport for me because without heels I am constantly climbing on counters.

Can I tell you, those 1950s housewives really knew what they were doing cooking/cleaning in heels. Believe me.

FUN FACT 2: Short girl appreciation day is December 21. I will be expecting hugs, and possibly step stools . Just kidding… sorta.

Anyway, back to breakfast. This week my favorite breakfast dish was a poached egg with asparagus. Easy enough, right? Not only can you see the ingredients I used, but it was also done in minimal time.

And just because I really loved one of my lunches I made for my mom and I this past week I’ll share my famous Wedge Salad that my mom is always begging me to make. Basically, I take ¼ of a medium sized wedge of lettuce and grill it. Then I add crispy turkey bacon bits that I had leftover and added some chopped tomatoes, cucumber, and if you like purple onion…throw that on there too. Dress it with whatever you’d like. I prefer any of the Walden Farms dressings because they’re gluten free and have zero carbs.

It’s getting late lovelies, I should be getting into bed but I’ll probably end up watching Mad Men. I’ll report back next week for some trend spotting.
Hope you enjoyed this weeks installment, and also…don’t be strangers.

—XO Your Uptown Maven