One Manhattan Day

I birthed the idea on Saturday afternoon from the conception of a desire to explore and a need to be with my family. A trip to Manhattan, SoHo to be specific and to be yet more precise... Dean and Deluca.

To all you masters of the mixers, sultans of the spatulas and czars of cooking I believe you comprehend the whimsy of gourmet and over-priced grocers. For some, it's more than just a knife. In fact it's a silver blade which smoothly spreads creamy, churned butter on the crisp on the outside, hearty, yet soft on the inside bread. Now let me just pause to say food is not an obsession of mine, just a part of my life that I take great joy and delight in.

Dean and Deluca welcomes you in with cathedral ceilings and fresh produce right at the entrance. Exotic mushrooms sit in perfect rows as if just picked fresh that morning and waiting to be prepared that evening. For Autumn, pumpkins line the front rows of the grocery garden and remind those who celebrate to be thankful for every scent climbing up your nose. Lying behind this produce garden is a vertical field of flowers, delicately arrange and mindfully prepared to please the eye. As my mom and I took a gander, a kind woman offered her assistance with pride. A glimmering reminder of how blessed she is to have employment she enjoys. Moving further into the jungle of exotic blends we find the coffee square with roasted beans from around the world. As I lift the lids from the coffee jars to breathe deeply, a fresh, crisp fragrance fills my lungs, leaving a calming after shock. Who would think coffee when roasted fresh and well could calm the senses and appease the taste buds. Making my way around the coffee corner is the candy and dried fruit; just looking at the apricots made my mouth water. Sniffing these fruits was all I did while passing them, but the delightful colors have painted a beautiful pallet in my creative mind. Onto the pastures of cheese was next on my list. The counter was high and marble covered with clean glass casings, but not too far to reach and ask for assistance. That day we delved into the purchase of new cheese; a sheep milk cheese, an delightfully aged gouda and a stinky bleu cheese for my dad.

A day worth while because it was spent with my parents and allowed my mind to explore the corners of the world via food through one small yet grand store. Food is a blessing; let us never take it for granted. May it always be used to bring people together and reveal care.

Pillows of Plenty

I have a love of all things soft and cozy; pillows fit that description well. In the attempt to keep me falling off the bed as a baby, my parents surrounded me with pillows which I soon learned to enjoy. I sleep with at least two, but if I had four or five I would not complain. Maybe it's the feeling of security and serenity to me, to be enveloped by a mountain of softness and warmth, or maybe it's the Narnia effect where I can escape into vivid dreamland where no one can find me.

An admiration of soft comfort has now turned into projects and projections of decorations and design. Here is my first hand-stitched flower pillow with hope and desire of more en route. If you're interested, please inquire.

Day Harmonies and Night Melodies

How often do we use the excuse, "I don't have time?" For the most part, I believe this is a lie we have begun to believe. We have been given this precious lyric of time, and we have this incredible responsibility of how we play it. A day can end with no new melodies or harmonies to hum, or we can fill a page with beautiful notes that have created a splendid sound to our souls. I fail often to write music with my time, instead using it on so called "lounging," when really this lounging I partake in leaves me more exhausted than before; more empty and unsatiated.

Have you ever thought of the blessing, the beauty that we were created with precision and carefulness by God and are called to reflect this? To think of a God who is so creative to design our blood vessels, our 7 layers of epidermis, our hair follicles and our colors has also passed this beautiful gift to us. We were created to use our minds and to expand our minds. We were given gifts to be creative which splash color on a canvas in many ways throughout our world. Some are very artistic, many are musical, others are creative in their approaches to life and in their love. Creativity is endless and I can only imagine how incredible it must be to see this world of creativity.

I have found more joy and rejuvenation in creativity than lethargy. In two hours time of reading and painting stories in my mind, or of crafting alone or with some close friends, or of taking pictures or cooking, or working in the garden or cleaning the yard, I have felt these two hours to be reviving like none other.

Create music with your life.