right now

Right now I’m sitting in my apartment. The baby has just drifted off, the air conditioner’s humming along, and in the distance there’s an ice cream truck–the new kind with the annoying voice that says “HELLO!” periodically. And as my afternoon fluctuates between stillness and chaos, I’m typing, breathing, and enjoying this moment just as it is.

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent last weekend in paradise, or my version anyway. I attended the Big Summer Potluck, an intimate food blog conference in rural Pennsylvania. The event was peppered with gorgeous landscapes, good friends, fun parties, giveaways, and some terrific talks, including one from Joy the Baker and a small-batch canning demo by the cool and funny Marisa of Food in Jars, whose comprehensive, beautiful book I finally got my hands on.

Two talks from the weekend really stand out to me. Brooke, of Food Woolf spoke of mindfulness and how to shut out the constant chatter–chatter that often makes us feel we are not measuring up–of the internet and social media. She talked abut breathing, simple mantras, being in the moment, and really seeing what’s in front of you. Her words struck a chord, and a gradual clarity has been emerging since.

Molly O’Neill was straight-up captivating, and was able to imbue each sentence with earth-shattering wisdom and effortless grace, humor, and charm. Like pretty much everyone else in attendance, I vowed on the spot to become a dedicated follower and student of her disarming, thoughtful style.

And after I got back from a magical weekend in the glistening green countryside, I was smacked with big, looming decisions, minor heartbreak when something we really wanted fell through, and a meh birthday. But as the week has drawn to its end, I went to a couple of great parties hosted by great people, and have a little birthday celebration with friends to look forward to tonight. To top it off, this piece about Brooklyn Supper ran on Fine Cooking.com. And Brian and I had a small epiphany, about what we want in life, and, we hope, how to go out there and get it. Way easier said than done, but we’re getting started. So here we are, still in Brooklyn, and enjoying whatever it is the moment has to offer.

A note on the images: these were taken rather haphazardly with my phone and it shows. Such is life.