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November Bullet Journal Set-Up

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I can’t believe it’s November already! This year is just flying by……. on the 22nd it will be the first anniversary of MyDayIsBooked.com! But first things first; I need to set-up my bullet journal so I can plan out my month. For November I’m going with a tea and book theme, because when I think of fall I think of curling up with a hot mug of tea and a good book. I added some leaves in there too for extra fallness (fallness in now a word). There are some changes within a few of my spreads because I want to so some experimenting, but I absolutely looooooovvvvvveeee how they turned out. So scroll down and take a peek already!

 

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My accent colours for this month are light purple and grey. On my title page I have doodles of falling leaves, steaming mugs of tea, and a couple of books. There are some purple and grey dots just to fill in the empty spaces. I thought that my quote for this month is really cute; “leaves are falling, books are calling”, although books are always calling, so…….. Anyways, these pages look really good, except for the fact that I didn’t  search up how to draw a book before I drew the big book that I wrote November on, and it doesn’t look the best. Whatever. It’s not like I want to smack myself on the forehead every time I look at it or anything.

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One of my favourite calendar layouts yet! Just lots of doodles and dots. I’m really proud of how my calligraphy skills are coming along though! Also, I starting adding drop shadows to a lot of my drawings, and it gives a really cool effect. You’re going to notice a lot of black boxes with silver writing throughout my spreads this month, and this is because I made a lot of mistakes. Basically anywhere I messed up, I drew over it in black and then rewrote whatever needed rewriting in silver. #BulletJournalHacks

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Here are all of my trackers for this month. For my habit tracker, I just reverted back to an old classic; numbering off thirty squares, and the filling them in if I did a particular habit that day. My mood tracker is a bit different from usual though, it’s more like a chart. Each day I’ll draw a dot in the square that corresponds to my mood. I don’t know if you can see it, but at the bottom of the page there’s a legend with different little faces; to the right is happy and to the left is not so happy. I’m connecting the dots so it looks like a graph of sorts. You may have realized that I didn’t include a space to plan my blog posts this month, and this is because I found that I don’t really use it all that much. So I just included another book quote to fill that empty space.

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My first weekly spread has a bit of a scrapbookish feel to it. This is all due to the card stock I glued in there. I also printed of a black and white photo of leaves falling off of trees, which I love. Since school has started, I’ve also been including a place to write down homework that is due and tests that are coming up, so that I can see everything that I need to do in one place. The rest of this spread is pretty self-explanatory.

 

There we go! Now I can start planning my month.Hopefully you found my spreads inspiring! Have a great week;)

 

Yours Truly, MydayIsBooked:)))))))

 

All-Purpose Shawarma Spice

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Hello, you amazing people! I’m hoping that you’ve tried shawarma before, because it’s delicious, but if you haven’t, it’s basically meat roasted with middle eastern spices, usually served with pita, rice and pickled veggies. I could eat this stuff all day, and so I created a spice mix that almost perfectly recreates the real thing. I say that it’s “all-purpose” because that’s totally what it is. You can use this blend of spices on chickpeas, in soups and stews, or on chicken (my personal favourite).  This recipe is simple and you probably have all of the spices that you need right in your pantry. Here it is!

All Purpose Shawarma Spice

Makes: About 1/4 cup of spice

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbs garlic powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 1 tsp cayenne powder
  • 1 tbs cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbs paprika

Directions:

  1. Mix all of the seasonings in a bowl. Store in a sealable plastic bag.
  2. Enjoy on chickpeas (see a roasted chickpea recipe here), chicken, or in mediterranean cooking.

 

So yeah, today I had kind of a quicker recipe to share with you guys, but it’s delicious nonetheless;) Let me know what cool recipes you guys use this spice mix in!

 

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked:))))))

 

 

 

Healthier Thanksgiving Dinner

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I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love Thanksgiving dinner! Stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey, the whole shebang. But what I don’t love is the heavy feeling you get after eating all of that stuff. So, just in time for Thanksgiving, I’ve created three side dishes that are DELICIOUS while still being healthier than their traditional counterparts. My recipes for Sprouted Grain Bread Stuffing, Garlic Mashed Sweet potatoes, and Simple Roasted Veggies are easy to make, and serve as great accompaniments to turkey breast. Let’s get into this Thanksgiving feast!

 

Sprouted Grain Bread Stuffing

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Makes 2 Servings

 Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

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  • 2 slices of sprouted grain bread
  • 1 stalk of celery, diced
  • 1/4 of an onion (white or yellow), diced
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tbs avocado oil
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 cup organic veggie broth
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

  1. Toast the grain bread until it’s golden brown on either side. Cut it into cubes and set aside.
  2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a small pot and cook the celery, garlic and onion for about 6-8 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
  3. Add the broth, oregano, salt and pepper into the pot and bring to a boil. Dump in the cubed grain bread and stir.
  4. Continue to cook the mixture until the liquid has evaporated, but the bread is still soft. Serve immediately, or cool completely and then store in an airtight container in the fridge.
  5. Enjoy!

 

Garlic Mashed Sweet Potatoes

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Serves 2

Total Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Wash and peel the sweet potato.
  2. Take a few sheets of paper towel and wet them under the tap. Wring them out so that they’re just damp, and wrap the sweet potato in them. img_9545.jpg
  3. On a small plate, microwave the sweet potato for 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Then flip it over and microwave it for another 3 minutes and thirty seconds. Remove the potato from the microwave and cut it in half. If it’s soft all the way through, then it’s ready. If not, microwave it in 30 second increments until it is. This will all depend on  the size of your sweet potato.
  4. Place the sweet potato in a bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher. You will notice that the outside of the potato is still hard and won’t mash well. Remove these parts from the mash.
  5. Add in the minced garlic, salt and pepper, and keep mashing until the potatoes are smooth. Serve immediately or cool completely store in an airtight container in the fridge.
  6. Enjoy!

 

Simple Roasted Veggies

Serves: 2

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of your favourite veggies (mushrooms, cauliflower, carrots)
  • 1/2 tbs avocado oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Wash and dry your veggies. Cut them into bite-sized pieces. I used mushrooms, and cut them into quarters.
  3. Place your veggies on a sheet pan covered in parchment paper. Toss them in the oil with your hands. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper.
  4. Bake the veggies for about 20 minutes. Serve immediately, or cool completely and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
  5. Enjoy!

 

Now all you need is some turkey, and you’re off to the races! I hope that these sides give you the homey flavours of Thanksgiving, but still leave you feeling like you could run a few laps around the pumpkin patch! Anyways, I hope you all have an awesome long weekend. Thanks for checking out this post;).

 

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked

Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal

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You know how I posted three recipes for Overnight Oatmeal a couple months back? Well, those are great to make ahead for rushed mornings, but if you have the time to make this Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal, I totally recommend it! In fifteen minutes you can have a bowl of creamy, chocolaty oats topped with seeds and of course, cherries. If you don’t have time to make this during weekdays, it’s a great breakfast to soothe your sweet tooth on the weekends. In short, this recipe hits the spot any day of the week! I used frozen cherries in this to top my oats, but if you don’t have some on hand, any fresh or frozen berry will do. Now let’s make some oatmeal!

Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal

Makes 1 Serving

Cook Time: 5-8 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium sized banana
  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup frozen cherries (or berries of your choice)
  • Your favourite toppings (nuts and seeds, nut and seed butters, dried fruit, etc.)

Directions:

  1. Mash half of the banana in a small pot. Add in the oats, cocoa, and water, and stir until combined.
  2. Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring the oat mixture to a boil.
  3. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 5-8 minutes, until desired thickness is reached. Make sure to stir the oats every couple minutes or so to avoid them sticking to the bottom of the pot.
  4. Remove the pot from the heat and pour its contents into a bowl. Top with the frozen cherries and other toppings of your choice. I like to slice the other half of the banana and use it to top the oats.
  5. Enjoy!

This is a healthy and delicious breakfast, and it definitely fills you up and gets you through your day! I hope that you like it and find it easy to make. Thanks for reading!

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked;))

October Bullet Journal Set-Up

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Hello! I wanted to do a theme that was Halloweenish for this month, but that wasn’t straight up ghosts and jack o’ lanterns (I have nothing against ghosts and jack o’ lanterns, I just didn’t feel like drawing them for a whole month). So I finally decided on- drumroll please……. a Harry Potter theme! This theme took me a really long time to do, but it was definitely a labour of love, mostly because there are so many possibilities with Harry Potter and it’s one of my favourite book series of all time!  And I know that I said that my September spreads were my favourite of all time; not anymore! So, without further ado, let’s get into my October Bullet journal Set-Up!

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I stuck to the layout that I’ve been doing for the past few months for my title page- doodles and the name of the month on one side, and a quote on the other. This month I drew Hogwarts- which actually wasn’t as hard as it looks! Pinterest has a lot of Harry Potter themed doodles that you can reference (my fancy word for copy). For my quote I wrote one that I love from Albus Dumbledore aka JK Rowling; “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light.”.  All in all, I think that these pages turned out great!

Now on to my October calendar. I did this one Platform 9 3/4 style! There’s a simple brick background, Harry Potter style lettering, a drawing of the Hogwarts Express, and another JK Rowling quote: “Best to do it at a bit of a run if you’re nervous.” which I love because it totally applies to just life in general.

For my habit and mood trackers, I decided to have some fun. Here we have the Habit House Cup, and a Snitch mood tracker! I have four habit categories; physical, mental, organization, and other, and they each represent a Hogwarts House. I have about four habits in each category, and different amounts of points are assigned to every one. So, for example, if I made my bed one day, I would draw one little gem inside the organization category (Slytherin), representing one House point. At the end of the month, I’ll be able to see which House “won” with the most points, and which House “lost” with the least house points. My mood tracker is a bit simpler; each feather on the wings represents a day of the month, and I’ll colour them in according to my mood and the legend on the side.

Here’s my gratitude tracker, along with a space for blog post planning at the bottom of the page. For each day in October, I drew a little envelope, where I’ll write something that I’m grateful for each day in green ink (that’s what Hogwarts uses in the books). In the center there’s an owl with another envelope in it’s mouth. My blog ideas section is made to look like an old piece of parchment, with a drawing of a quill and ink pot on the side.

As for my first couple of weekly spreads, they’re pretty self-explanatory, so I’ll let you take a look at them yourselves….

Alrighty then! I hoped you liked and felt inspired by my October Bullet Journal Set-Up! I had so much fun with it and couldn’t wait to share it with you guys. Buy for now!

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked;)))