Honestly, staying home on Saturday night isn’t unusual for me. Oh sure, sometimes I get an idea in my head and actually go out and *do* something, but I tend to spend the afternoons out instead.
Today, I got all the errands and shopping done a wee bit earlier, so I was home to enjoy the afternoon sun flooding the kitchen with the a/c running since it was hot, while cooking a pot full of plum and orange blossom preserves, and when the time was right, I poured myself a glass of chilled chardonnay…which leads to…
The Top Five Favourites
1. A glass of wine.
What I pour depends on my mood. I will happily drink red, white, rose, sparkling, and even slightly fizzy. And it’s while I was drinking a glass of wine today that I remembered how much I love…
2. Simple dinners.
Dinners that require one pot, one bowl, a limited amount of utensils, and not a lot of time. Like pasta. Tossed with olive oil, a little garlic, a little pepper, and a lot of grated Pecorino Romano.
3. Salvaged pieces.
I was down in Venice early in the week and walking down a street that wasn’t really a street…it was a sidewalk with houses on either side. It’s one of those tightknit spaces called a ‘Place.’ But it was a Place with so much character and so many great details…including these doors that someone had at the entrance to their yard.
4. Words with Friends
Yes…I play games on my phone. There aren’t many, but my list does include Words with Friends and Candy Crush Saga (damn you!). I see it as a way of keeping my mind agile. And where else would you be able to use the word ‘Za’ on a regular basis? Those Z’s are worth 10 points!
5. Learning to accept the imperfect.
I am forever the Perfectionist. I’ve been that way as long as I can remember. I have a hard time accepting that life isn’t perfect, things aren’t perfect, people aren’t perfect. Slowly (and I mean slowly) the concept seeps into my brain. Today by the wrapping of a present for a friend…I see it…the imperfect…and appreciate it. Like it, even. I thought this paper was larger than it was for what I needed to wrap. It wasn’t. But I made it work. I didn’t try to make it perfect. I tried to make it work. I think I succeeded.
Semplice Gourmet 