Tag Archives: Well in LA

inspiration, gratitude & surprises

31 May

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image via one part gypsy

what inspired me this week?

– a wine & watermelon margarita fueled Friday afternoon with new friends Mary, Jacki & Lindsay and old friends Rachel & Erin. It was an epic afternoon in the sun. They are a seriously soulful and interesting group of woman.

– my new personal essay writing class at Writing Pad with Taffy Brodesser -Akner. There really is nothing better than spending a few hours once a week with other writers.

– yoga class with Tamal on Tuesday night. Every time I leave his class I wonder why I don’t make time for it everyday. I swear it changes my whole perspective.

– the new healing crystals (pink opal, serpentine, blue topaz & aventurine) that I bought in Sedona. I sound like a total hippy, don’t I?

– the book “Why We Write”

– the book “How To Write A Screenplay in 10 weeks”. You know I love goals.

what am I grateful for this week?

– I think I found Frank!!

– finding a new therapist I loooooove.

what surprised me this week?

– everything you need always shows up exactly when you need it. Why do I forget this?

**

“In order to lead a fascinating life- one brimming with art, music, intrigue and romance- you must surround yourself with precisely those things.”

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inspiration, gratitude & surprises

29 Mar

dance

This weekend is packed but it should be a fun one! Tonight my girlfriend, Taline is coming over for a night of food, wine, wedding talk (she’s also my maid of honor), tv and hanging. We are both in need of some quality time together. Tomorrow I finally start ballet classes. I’m reaaaaaally excited and slightly nervous I’ll make a fool of myself. It’s been twelve years since I’ve danced. Like riding a bike, right? That reminds me I have to buy ballet shoes this afternoon! After class I’m stopping over at my gorgeous cousins house for an afternoon glass of wine to celebrate her birthday. Then Brian and I are meeting our dinner club crew, Rachel & PJ and Loni & Mike for a night out on the town. For those of you who don’t know, once a month we pick a new restaurant to all go to. This month we picked Mercado, a mexican style restaurant in Santa Monica. Having dinner with this crew is something I look forward to every month! Then Sunday we are off to an easter brunch with Brian’s family and in the evening we are hosting a birthday party for my step-father, Irv.

What are you guys doing this weekend??

What inspired me this week?

What To Learn From A 6 Year Old Who Has Autism

You Don’t Have To Be Anything But Real 

our bright new garden plants. Lavender in lime green planters is quite a brilliant combo.

What am I grateful for this week?

I had my first essay published on MindBodyGreen! I can officially say I am “published” now.

a date night with two lovely ladies Katie & Erin. A dinner filled with inspiring talks about writing, being authentic, love and traveling.

hanging with my girlfriend Melissa. To say that I adore her would be an understatement.

the wedding is coming together!

What surprised me this week?

being referred to as a Glodney

How many people continue to respond to my piece about anxiety. It’s incredible how many people suffer with it on different levels.

*

“I do believe in an everyday sort of magic- the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art and the like; the eerie appropriateness of moments of synchronicity; the whispered voice, the hidden presence, when we think we’re alone.”  – Charles De Lint

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inspirations, gratitude and surprises

1 Feb

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We’ve been in our new house for exactly seven days and I have spent most of them either in shock that this is my new home (I mean it’s reaaaallllly pretty), depressed about the change (I don’t do change well- I miss our little rundown bungalow by the beach that I used to complain about) or feeling like I’m living in a dream world (this is my life?!?!?!). I feel like I am squatting at a real adults super nice house and I’m going to get kicked out soon. I also feel completely overwhelmed by the reality of it. A mortgage?! These last few months have been amazing, everything I could have ever wanted, but, the last few months have also been filled with a lot of adult activities – you know getting engaged, planning a wedding and buying a place and all of a sudden it hit me like a freight train when we moved in- I’m an adult. I’ve arrived!!! SHIT. Now what?

Gone are the days of staying out till 3 am on a weeknight with friends just because I felt like it. Gone are the days of spending my paycheck on shoes instead of saving it. Gone are the days of wondering what I will be like when I grow up (It’s kinda a fun game to play, huh? SOOO many possibilities).

Because I am a grown up. AND it’s scary. AND lovely. AND exciting. AND overwhelming. AND I’m happy. AND I mourn the other stage a bit. AND I’m in wonder. AND I feel blessed. AND I feel like an imposter most days.

I’m not going to lie…it’s been a bit of a hard week. I feel stupid even admitting that considering everything I have to be thankful for. But, it’s the truth. One of the many complicated things about being a human being.

What inspired me this week?

This incredibly honest and heartfelt post by Erin of Well In LA

This post by Katie Devine of Confessions Of An Imperfect Life

Taking myself on a date to the bookstore. I bought Marianne Williamson’s “A Return To Love”, Steve Martin’s “An Object Of Beauty” & Jennifer Egan’s “A Visit From The Goon Squad”.

This sweet post about motherhood by Naomi of Love Taza

The view I get of the sunset each night from our new living room. EPIC

Being honest about my feelings

What am I grateful for this week?

When I told my momma that I was feeling low she immediately came over to hang- just dropped everything and came right over. We sat around scouring the internet for a dining table. Have I ever told you she’s a brilliant interior designer?? Shameless plug, huh?

I have a washing machine, a dishwasher and a two person tub now! The two person tub has already been put to use!

I have THE BEST fiancée in the ENTIRE WORLD. It’s a fact.

What surprised me this week?

How hard I took all the change this week.

Waking up every morning with one swollen eye. WHY? Maybe I’m allergic to the detergent I used to clean the sheets? Lame

Moving boxes seem to populate during a move. It feels like they are endless and taking over our home!

*

“The trick is growing up without growing old.”
Casey Stengel

Find me elsewhere: instagram @kate365, twitter, facebook

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Guest post by Well In LA

12 Jul

Brilliant guest post by my dear friend Erin of Well In LA– are you ready to get inspired!!!?? Enjoy!

My milestone birthday is lurking on the horizon. By lurking, I mean 11 months down away. I’ve been inspired to make a very fun countdown by the lovely Kate. I wanted a unique way to celebrate the number 30 my way. To date in my life I’ve focused on balancing things, dabbling in writing every other day or meditation a few times a week. But I’ve never really immersed myself in something completely, every day, for more than a couple of weeks at a time. I want to shake up year #29 and try immersion (thanks, Nicole for the intro), to test the theory that intensely focusing on one thing produces the best results. If I do 30 days of yoga, will my heels finally touch the mat? Will 30 days of green juices and no coffee make me a lean, green non-caffeine machine? How much gratitude can I squeeze into each day with intense focus? I’m ready for a healthy dose of challenges and variety in the months leading up to the big 3-0!

Below are the challenges I’ve set out for myself. Stay tuned to my blog for mid-month and end of month updates on the progress, not to mention the tools I’ll be using to support myself as posted to Facebook and Twitter.

1.) 31 Days of eating Vegetarian // July 2012

2.) 31 Days of eating Vegan // August 2012

3.) 30 Days of Eating Raw // September 2012

4.) 31 Days of Yoga // October 2012

5.) 30 Days of Meditation // November 2012

6.) 31 Days of Writing // December 2012

7.) 31 Days of Green Juices// January 2013

8.) 28 Days of Gratitude // February 2013

9.) 30 Days Writing Letters // March 2013

10.) 30 Days of the BIG Ask // April 2013

11.) 30 Days of Travel // May 2013

My 30th Birthday: May 30th, 2013. My plan is to outline the “rules” for the 30 days on the 1st of each month and share a weekly update & overall progress/feelings about the 30 days. Want to see what’s on my full life list? Check out this post with the link and a spreadsheet you can use to organize your hopes, dreams & goals.

Good luck to each and every one of you celebrating a big milestone or challenge in your life! And if you’re headed for a big birthday, I challenge you to tackle the year in a big, celebrate your life sort of way!

Be WELL!

www.wellinla.com


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96

3 Apr

20 things that have been making me happy…

1. this quote- “Those who don’t believe in magic, will never find it.” Ronald Dahl

2. celebrating Papa Irv’s birthday 

3. not getting out of my pajama’s all day on saturday- I even went to whole foods in them (I wish I was kidding).

4. mint colored nails 

5. vietnamese food (I’m in love with you papaya salad)

6. 64 ways to turn an ordinary day in to an extraordinary one (Putting this up in my house)

7. Greenbean (my friend not the food)

8. when out of nowhere Brian said to me “I just  really like being with you”

9. ordering my new road trip inspiration book “Blue Highways”

10. sharing a laugh with the barista at starbucks. (I’m a fan of a good laugh with a stranger)

11. talking through the chaos with Rachel

12. realizing today that we leave for our road trip in one week.

13. hot showers on a cold afternoon

14. a crisp glass of rose

15. working on a guest post for Well In LA (I just love Erin!)

16. the breeze on my face

17. feeling healthy

18. The sound you heard this morning (dooce always cracks me up)

19. lite candles while writing

20. when I was falling asleep the other night I had this overwhelming sense of gratitude for everything…my life..Brian..family…health…friends…creativity. It was truly overwhelming. It centered me and I realized if I attained none of my goals this year I would still be lucky.

NOW FOR MY FAVORITE QUESTION OF THE WEEK- WHAT”S BEEN MAKING YOU GUYS HAPPY RECENTLY?? 

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121

9 Mar

20 things that have been making me happy recently

I have been in a lovely mood this week despite the fact I lost all my tax papers (an hour before my meeting with my accountant), I’ve been alone most nights (Brian has been on a crazy deadline at work and has been getting home late because of it…although this does mean I get to watch “Real Housewives” and “Bethanny Ever After” without being shamed) and ate waaaaay too much coffee frozen yogurt one night. Yes, despite all of this it’s still been a good week and here are some of the reasons why….

20 things that have been making me happy this week

1. grey mornings spent working with Rachel on our road trip…with her puppies…on a couch…in yoga clothes

2. cooking dumplings with mom mom

3. It was decided this week that Brian will have a photography show in the next few weeks with another brilliant photographer! I’m so frigging excited for him.

4. taking silly photo’s at our friends wedding

5. oh and the actual wedding! I’m a fan of a good wedding

6. breakfast with Erin of Well In LA @ Lemon moon

7. tango dancing with George (surprisingly i’m kinda looking forward to seeing him again)

8. Bethanny Ever After (am I the only one who likes this show?)

9. coconut water (my obsession with it is getting a bit out of hand)

10. my new book “Blood, Bones & Butter“

11. watermelon nails (better than red and better than pink)

12. watching the sun through sleeves of trees

13. facing the tango again…i’m pretty proud of myself

14. my moms humorous ways (her random texts really get a giggle out of me)

15. browsing the travel guidebook section at the bookstore (even though I got yelled at for sitting on the bookstore floor while reading lonely planets “USA travel guide”…seriously when did this become a crime?)

16. holding hands while falling asleep (yes Brian and I actually did this the other night…before you make fun of us…try it)

17. dancing  to music (when alone)

18. blues music

19. having time for 3 “snooze” pushes (the trade-off is I don’t have time to brush my hair)

20. coffee flavored frozen yogurt (it’s a slippery slope my friends)

What’s been making you guys happy recently???

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162

27 Jan

INSPIRATIONS, GRATITUDE & SURPRISES

I had a rather stellar week. Why, you ask? Alright, I’ll tell you. I finished my book proposal! Pretty thrilling, huh? I am not sure who is happier about this…Brian or me. Can’t say he seemed too sad when I said I was finished. I think he’s happy to finally have the “normal” me back. The other Kate was snippy and loved to sit around in her pajamas all day on the weekends writing. She was pretty exciting, not to mention sexy, I’m sure.  So yeah, I’m happy I turned it in. The process of putting it together was fulfilling, exhausting and exciting. I’m scared to imagine what I will be like when I am actually writing the book. Brian may want to go on an extended vacation to India at that point.

What inspired me this week?

The movie “Finding Forester”

The movie “The Lie”– loved the performances in it.

Volunteering at PATH

My new book Revive

Road trip planning with Rachel…here we come open road and adventure!

What am I grateful for this week?

Finishing my book proposal. Yahooo.

Brian for being such a good-natured and lovable guy

Erin of Well In LA for teaching me a few new healthy recipes!

The amazing notes I received from readers. They put a huge smile on my face. It has been so nice to hear your thoughts and connect. It makes it so much more fun. It’s nice to know that I’m not alone in feeling this way!

My fav notes of the week-

“I hit 29 less than a month ago. I feel the pinch, too. I’m trying to meditate, cook, volunteer, learn Spanish and garden. I’m really enjoying your blog, and it’s giving me some more ideas to add to my self-improvement list. Thank you for sharing your journey with all of us, it’s nice to know there are other 29 year olds sans mortgage, etc. Or should I say…merci!”

“I love this concept! At 27, 30 is starting to feel frighteningly close. I’ve always thought of 30 as the year by which I would have it “all figured out”. Now that 30 is looking like a real, and near, prospect… well. I’ll be following your blog now to see how it all goes”

“Thank you for this post!! Working on my own list right now and this is completely inspiring.
And thank you for sharing your journey. The sweetness of your heart shines through… and I know it must take a good shot of bravery every now and then to do everything you’re doing. Rock on lady
much Love”

What surprised me this week?

Enjoying cooking dinner. WHO. AM. I? Not the Kate McClafferty I used to know.

*

“Everything you want, also wants you”

Jack Canfield

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163

26 Jan

LEARN TO COOK

My friend Erin of Well in LA was nice enough to teach me a recipe for 365 til 30. I love everything about her company especially the motto, “Life is short. Live WELL”…now doesn’t that say it all? Well In LA is a full service shop for wellness coaching, eating, cleanses and consultation. I find her approach toward a healthy lifestyle very inspiring and her easy attitude about it all, refreshing. You can’t even fault her for being so cute and healthy and fit and…and.. and…because she is so nice!

Days before our cooking date Erin sent me a list of ingredients and after reading it I knew I was in for a healthy afternoon considering I didn’t know what half of them were. I also noticed that it was a Martha Stewart recipe. We all know how I feel about Martha Stewart after cooking a stew from her book last month. I think she’s a liar. Plain and simple. I think she makes things seem easier than they are and lies about the timing of things. Although I will say this, I now know what a parsnip looks like after tackling the stew- this time I walked straight over to them at the market with confidence. Progress! I hit a wall with a rutabaga though. Do you know what they look like? I didn’t. I roamed the aisles again until I found a helpful produce man to point the way for me.

Erin taught me a whole days menu! : a juice for breakfast  (carrot, beet, apple and fresh mint), salad for lunch (raw kale with cranberries, sauteed onions and toasted walnuts) and vegetables for dinner (brussels sprouts, sweet potato, parsnips, carrots, rutabaga). I’m sure many of you just read that and thought –there is no way in hell that these meals were tasty and I am here to tell you that they were seriously yummy. The kale salad was my favorite and it wasn’t because I had to massage the Kale either (Although that was a highlight from the afternoon) When I got the direction to “massage the kale”…it took all my might not to laugh. Did you know you are supposed to massage kale with olive oil before eating it to make it taste better? News to me!

As I left Erin gave me a book called Revive by Frank Lipman that she thought I would like. I have been reading it the last two nights and love it. I am up for more vegetarian cooking after reading it!

THE JUICE

Ingredients:1 small beet, chopped-5 carrots, chopped -1 apple, cored and chopped-1/4 fresh mint springs

Directions:blend

THE SALAD AND VEGGIES

Click HERE for salad (#4 (subbed cranberries for pom seeds) and roasted veggie recipe (#6)

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260

21 Oct

INSPIRATION, GRATITUDE & SURPRISES

A Halloween picture for you.

 -What Inspired me this week?-

This article …so very honest

This article…interesting

The rocking Monday night yoga class with Jen

My Anti-Cancer Zuddha girls cooking class.

-What am I grateful for this week?

Rachel’s friendship and creative help!

Time to write

These two lovely mentions about 365 til 30…Here & Here . I love both these ladies blogs

Mint Chip Ice Cream

That Brian will watch Grey’s Anatomy with me…He will only do so if he gets mint chip ice cream though.

-What Surprised me this week?-

How much I am loving American Horror Story. It’s such a strange show

*

“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone driving faster than you is a maniac?”

George Carlin


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263

18 Oct

I went to The Gourmandise School this past Sunday for a Anti-Cancer cooking class taught by the Zuddha Girls- it was beyond informative and the food was so tasty. For those of you who don’t know the The Zuddha Girls they are two absolutely adorable woman who run a company that specializes in raw and vegan cooking/cleanses. They make healthy eating look easy, tasty, fun and sexy. The class made me think about the food choices I am make everyday and how these choices will impact my life in years to come. Especially moving into my 30’s! I want to be the strongest, healthiest and happiest version of myself in my 30’s!

Lesson of the day: Eat MORE veggies and LESS animal products. Such a simple rule but so very hard to follow some days. Of course I came home from the class obsessed with what we keep in our kitchen. Brian and I also had to watch the documentary Forks Over Knives that night- a film about what we should eat and why. It’s a must watch! Here’s to healthy eating and being the best versions of ourselves!

Here are a few fun shots from the day (taken by the very talented One Part Gypsy)

 I also met some fellow fabulous bloggers at the class! All their blogs are great…

Erin of Well in La, Timeisha of Urban Glam Gyrl and of course my friend Rachel of One Part Gypsy.

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