reflecting on this today...

North Carolina Arboretum ~ Spring 2009

It's not what you give up, it's how you reach out.

love letter to spring

Aaah, Spring. You really are magical.

I start sensing your subtle hints as the days get longer, the sky looks infinitely bluer, the sunshine feels warmer, yet the breeze still stays cool and refreshing. So I wait in joyful anticipation.

And then one day I wake up, and you are in full bloom.

It seems that you are always even more glorious than the last time. I know...I say that every year.

You always come, year after year, yet I never tire of seeing you. From the humble, hopeful beginnings of your budding blossoms to your fullest expression.

And just like that, you are gone before we know it. Perhaps it is your fleeting nature that makes me appreciate your magic even more.

And so I wait, again. For another year. And sure as the sun, about twelve months from now, you return, and grace us again with your magnificent presence.

Just once around the sun*, I remind myself. Just once around the sun.

~

* From a scene in Gattaca, one of my favorite movies. Vincent: "It's funny. You work so hard, you do everything you can to get away from a place...and when you finally get your chance to leave... you find a reason to stay. A year is a long time." Irene: "Not so long.... just once around the sun." (watch here)

weekend recharge

This weekend has been amazing - sunny, breezy 70-degree weather! It can't get any better than this. 

I had been craving the food at the Greenhouse Tavern for the past week, so early last week I made reservations for a Saturday dinner. Not having grown up here, I did not realize that Saturday the 17th was St. Patrick's Day. We decided to go ahead and brave the craziness downtown to go to one of our favorite restaurants. In the end we were both glad we went, as the food did not disappoint.

Citrus salad: grapefruit, fennel, Chef's Garden field greens and racing onion soubise; Very, Very, Very Spicy Greens n' Beans with pickled red chili paste, crispy shallots and white beans

Mushroom Risotto with truffles, candy cap mushrooms, chives, and Parmesan. The most earthy-delicious mushroom risotto I have ever tasted.

Buttered Popcorn Pots de Creme with Caramel and Sea Salt. No, there wasn't any actual popcorn in it, but popcorn was steeped in the cream. The dessert really captured that sweet and salty goodness.

 Then Sunday started with a quick breakfast...

blood orange olive oil cake with an extra pat of butter and orange marmalade

Then an afternoon hike at the South Chagrin Reservation...

light and shadows

I can hear the water!

getting closer to the river

green and yellow moss

muddy trails and happy feet

And lastly...our favorite pasta dish for Sunday dinner.

whole wheat spaghettini wtih wilted arugula, garlic, toasted pine nuts, and parmigiano-reggiano

Ending the weekend on a very thankful note. Ready for the week ahead...

"murmurations" - nothing short of amazing

I know this video has gone viral already, but I can't help but re-post it here - it is incredible!


Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

take flight

Cleveland Botanical Garden

"Some birds can't be caged. Their feathers are too bright."  

{The above quote is in my opinion one of the most memorable lines in one of my favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption. It was stated by Red, the character played by Morgan Freeman, to describe his fellow prison inmate Andy, played by Tim Robbins.}

I love this plant - I *think* it could be related to the "birds of paradise" flower, but I'm not sure. Whatever the case, I am just amazed by its form and beauty. Nature is truly is amazing in how it expresses itself most fully. 

It reminds me to take flight, towards the fullest expression of myself.

Whoever you are, whatever you do - I hope you, too, are taking flight.

tribute to fall 2011

I say it every year: "There will never be another Fall [insert year]."

So here we go: There will never be another Fall 2011.

Year after year, the fall season is different. The timing in which the leaves turn. The transitions I go through in my own life as nature goes through its own transition. The stage I am in at that point in my life. The sights, the events, the flavors, the emotions I experience as I soak in the season. It's unique, every year.

 my parents, at the Cleveland Botanical Garden

 

my parents... such lovebirds!

A visit to Auburn Twin Oaks Winery, Chagrin Falls - a special place for A. and me

(I'm a lightweight when it comes to alcohol of any kind, but I absolutely LOVE this place - it's where A. and I got married, very quietly, with only 8 witnesses present.)

 The most amazing fennel and broccoli soup at Moxie, where we took my parents for dinner. 

I promptly tried to replicate this soup that same week.

Some thoughts to ponder on...

 

One of our favorite restaurants in Cleveland, where we also took my parents for dinner

 with my mom, outside Greenhouse Tavern

 

 picture of A. and me, taken by my dad as we were walking on East 4th in downtown Cleveland

(that's me walking ON the sidewalk so I can be as tall as A. is... just a joke between us)

 funny carvings on a tree trunk, found during one of our walks in North Chagrin Metropark

Thank you, A., for grounding me.

I can't do what I do without you.

 light. color. shadows.

 beautiful blue skies - always appreciated during the long season of gray days in Cleveland

 North Chagrin Metropark - we are blessed to have this wonderful gem less than 10 minutes from our home.

Product of a cozy day of baking at home: buttery, flaky biscuits thanks to our very own Cleveland author Michael Ruhlman's book, Ratio. I'm not one to collect cookbooks, but in my (humble) opinion this is one of the best food-related books out there. In a nutshell, it's based on the premise that you're better off knowing a ratio than a recipe. If you know a ratio, you know exponentially more recipes.

Check out the flaky layers in the biscuit above - thanks to his technique of a few rounds of chilling the dough, then folding into thirds and rolling (for a total of 6x which, including chilling time, took a few hours). There are just no shortcuts to some of the finer things in life. :)

Biscuits were enjoyed fresh out of the oven, with my favorite Bonne Maman jam.

 vanilla bean ice cream churning in the ice cream maker

It may be getting cold, but I'll take good quality ice cream any day.

Check out those specks of vanilla!

There's just nothing like it.

(Pardon my poor kitchen lighting... it was nighttime)

 A fiery orange tree against the most unbelievably blue sky.

How lucky am I to have this tree outside our balcony?

Some grounding words as we live through the transitions and changes that are characteristic of this "vata" season. These tips, based on principles of Ayurveda, are especially helpful for someone like me with a predominant vata dosha, but can also be helpful to anyone.

("breathe in life" frame gifted by my uber-cool aunt, a proprietor of a B&B  and a yoga instructor; the gift tag was from a present given by this friend. I hung it over the side of the frame because it reminds me of a mandala. I have this displayed in my home office.)

As I mentioned earlier... there will never be another Fall 2011. Breathe it in...