It’s easy to fall into the self defeating pattern of thinking we will be happy when something specific happens in our lives. For some of us the ‘when’ is when we find the perfect job, the perfect partner or move to the perfect place. What if we were able to open ourselves up to the joys of the present instead of waiting for the illusion of the perfect life that waits just around the corner? Perhaps we could start to find happiness in today, just as it is, instead of waiting for tommorow. So stop and smell the proverbial roses. Open up that bottle of wine you have been saving for a special occasion. Dance more. Call your best friend and laugh about something silly. Roll down your windows and turn up the volume on your favorite song. Embrace the present moment here and now. Enjoy the playlist and the quote….see you in class soon!
“We spend our lives in anticipation-in determining to be vastly happy at some point in the future when we have time. But the present time has one advantage over every other. It is our own. Past opportunites are gone. The future is yet to come. We may lay in a stock of pleasures, as we would lay in a stock of wine, but if we defer the tasting of them too long we should find that both are soured by age.” -Charles Caleb Colton
Click HERE to enjoy the playlist from last night’s Candlelight Yoga class
“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.” -Ernest Hemingway -’A Moveable Feast’
One of my favorite stops when I am in the Bay Area is the Hog Island Oyster Company for a dozen of their plump, sweet oysters. They have two oyster bars, one at the Ferry Building in San Francisco and a newer location at the Oxbow Market in Napa, as well as a picnic location at Tomales Bay where they are harvested. They offer oysters grilled, baked and fried as well as clam chowder and oyster po’boys but I prefer them plain and on the half shell. Not even a squeeze of lemon to get in the way of their briny deliciousness. (more…)
“It is paradoxical but true that something that takes you out of yourself also restores you to yourself with greater freedom”- Frances Mayes, ‘Every Day in Tuscany’
I recently attended the Professional Wine Writer’s Symposium in Napa and had the pleasure to hear Frances Mayes, author of ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’, speak about her writing, her life in Italy and how everything changed for her when she decided to buy and restore a house in a foreign country. I also had the opportunity to read, ‘Every Day in Tuscany’ which will be released today. While ’Under the Tuscan Sun’ was about self discovery and learning to view one’s life through a different lens, her latest book published twenty years later captures the sweetness, richness, complexity and challenges of her everyday life in Tuscany. (more…)
Early spring day in St. Helena.
It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want – oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain
I think that every wine lover has secretly dreamed of owning a little vineyard somewhere. Every now and again I find myself day dreaming about tending rows of vines at sunrise and lovingly picking grapes by hand at harvest. While the fantasy is a lovely one, the reality of vineyard work tends to be much less bucolic. In fact, growing grapes is back-breaking work that demands a tremendous amount of skill and knowledge. On a recent trip to Napa I got to experience a taste of this for myself as I took part in a hands-on pruning demonstration at the historic To Kalon vineyard with Matt Ashby, director of vineyard operations at Robert Mondavi Winery. (more…)
I just finished reading “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin about a writer, mom and wife who decides to dedicate a year to getting happier. Her decision was not brought on by a seismic life event, but by the same everyday things so many of us struggle with. It isn’t about major life changes, in the style of “Eat. Pray. Love.” Instead, each month she gives herself resolutions like “remember love” and “make time for play” and plans specific strategies for keeping them. It was certainly inspiring, but I was left asking myself can we tackle our happiness like we do our to-do list? What resolutions would I make? Should I start my own happiness project? (more…)
It’s easy this time of year to get caught up in old, unhealthy patterns. The sky is grey and hibernating can sometimes seem like the best option. When we step onto our yoga mat we have the power to change all that. We can let the movement, the breath and the music help us blossom open. It may not be spring outside, but we can let in the light and start to find that first warm breeze inside of ourselves.
Check out the playlist from today’s Yoga Flow class by clicking HERE. Hope it makes you feel like spring is just around the corner. I am loving the version of ‘Ooh Child’ by Beth Orton and ‘Wheat Kings’ by the Tragically Hip. ‘Brown Sugar’ by the Rolling Stones is a great song to make you want to rock out on your yoga mat. Enjoy!
The food memories that tend to stay with us are often the most elemental, like the smell of fresh baked bread or the taste of raspberries still warm from the sun. What makes these tastes and smells so elemental is how close they are to the source. The meal that I had with my family today was as close to the source as you can get. On the recommendation of a friend we headed to Barra de Potosi, a mostly undeveloped beach about 45 minutes from Zihuatanejo. Like most good adventures, this one involved a bit of getting lost, a few dirt roads and a bumpy ride. All of which made our first view of the 22 kilometer long white sand beach that much more amazing. (more…)
My family and I have just arrived in Zihuatanejo on the Pacific Coast of Mexico to celebrate my dad’s retirement and enjoy a family vacation. After 35 years of working as a chef in his restaurant, he is ready to let someone else do the cooking for a change. Which is exactly what brings us to Restaurante Mexicano ‘Any’ in the historic center of Zihuatenejo. I have to say that my family, having lived most of our lives in the restaurant, is an adventurous bunch with high expectations for good food. Our first taste of pozole did not disappoint. An enormous platter with a giant bowl of soup in the middle was served surrounded by all of the pozole ‘toppings’. The traditional toppings are lime, ground oregano, jalapenos, finely chopped onions, avocado, radishes, sliced cabbage, chicharrones (fried pork skin) and chiles but this can vary from region to region. (more…)
One of my all time favorite books is “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel. Its a love story, written more like a cookbook, with luscious Mexican recipes at the beginning of each chapter. Forbidden to marry the love of her life, the main character Tita expresses her love and sensuality through food. Through cooking, she is able to communicate her desire, her dreams, her creativity and her longing for Roberto. In one of my favorite chapters she creates a ‘mole’ using ingredients like chocolate, chiles and cinnamon. While blending the spices, she thinks of her beloved and they exchange a smoldering glance in the kitchen. The magic of that moment and the passion of her thoughts work their way into the flavor of the dish. One by one, each person at the table, overcome by the the ’secret ingredient’ of Tita’s passionate thoughts, leaves the table in a hurry. For Roberto, each bite that he takes is like a secret gift from Tita that conveys all of her sensuality and repressed love. This book always reminds me of the power of food to communicate love, to comfort us when we are down and to tap into all of our sensual desires. (more…)
