The Beauty of Hats

I always felt hats were stylish and classic. They make me feel like a woman. A put together woman.

 To Do: Buy Elegant Hat

Cupcakes Galore

My Baby Shower Cupcake Extravaganza

Spiced Banana Chocolate

Lavender

Strawberry Cheesecake

The Beauty of a Read: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

Do I hate it? Do I love it? It is probably a love-hate relationship.  The main character is a heroine but never asks or wants to be the heroine. In fact she is a heroine forced to be a heroine.  She never believed in the cause herself, in fact she just wanted out... until she did believe.  Perhaps this gave her her piece of humility and made her a more real and endearing character.  I mean, haven't we all been put into a situation that we didn't ask to be put in?  The point is though that she stepped into the shoes that were given to her.  She played the role she was meant to play.  She became selfless.  The world believed in her when she didn't believe in herself. 

A young girl sacrifices her life for the life of her younger sister.  An epic tale all on it's own. Perhaps these books are a little emotionally overwhelming.  I mean stepping in to save you sister's life could be the climax ending of another story. But it's only this story's beginning.  It's the tip of the iceberg of the emotional roller coaster you get strapped into. 

You dive into a society with such bizarre customs. A world that you think is so unreal and yet I wonder if the society of our superpower countries would not look a little similar to somebody from some remote tribe.  Or if someone from the past came and observed us, if they would find that we are very similar to the Capital with our dyed hair, tattoos, piercings, plastic surgery, make-up, nail polish, etc. 

This story supplies enough food for thought or fuel for debates for many a company.  It is also inspiring anytime you read about the individual that makes a difference.

A Zoo Date

Husband treated to me to date:

Brunch at a Cafe Restaurant that has the look of a breakfast joint but the menu of a diner. He knows how much I like variety and options. Then a surprise trip to the zoo. It was nice to be able to walk around, talk together and laugh together. Zoo patterns...

The Beauty of a Beginner

"The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all possibilities."

~Richard Baker

The Beauty of Vulnerability

It was suggested to me to watch a video called The Power of Vulnerability as it is told by Brene Brown.  It is on YouTube and is about 20 minutes long.  The talk inspires lots of food for thought and was enlightening in many ways.

Brene Brown talks about how life is messy and uncomfortable at times and you can't fix it. You have to live it, experience it, and feel it.  She was a researcher who learned that people lived for a sense of connection with others and that people fell into one of two categories: those who had a sense of worthiness of that connection and those who struggled for it.  She dove further to look at what the people who believed they were worthy of connection had that the others didn't and it came down to courage and vulnerability. 

Although the talk is about vulnerability, I left with a new perception of what courage is.  She looked at the Latin root and first meaning of the word which was to tell a story with your whole heart.  It must be very moving and fulfilling to always speak with your whole heart.  It must also be very courageous to do so. These people with self-worth or the people that were more content and happy had the courage to know that they were imperfect and to be imperfect.  She also says that they let go of who they thought they should be and became the people that they are.  I have a hard time with this last statement.  I feel that we are always striving to be better. I think we always try to attain a level of what we want to be. 

As far as the importance of vulnerability, Brene states that the people who felt worthy of connection embraced moments of vulnerability, That embracing those messy moments and allowing yourself to really feel them allowed for a birthplace for joy, love, and a sense of belonging.  Although those people did not say that vulnerability was comfortable, they deemed it necessary.  A priest told me not too long ago the we have to allow ourselves to feel life; otherwise we will miss out on feeling when God's grace comes to us.  I understood this as having to feel ALL things at all times.  If you numb the bad things in life and numb the feelings of vulnerability, you will numb the good things as well. 

She concludes that we need to love with our whole hearts with no expectations in return, that we should be grateful even in moments of catastrophe, that we should let ourselves be deeply seen by others and that we should believe that we are enough. 

My favorite words were: you are imperfect and wired for struggle and worthy of love and belonging.  I took this not really about myself but for those around me.  I thought do I make those that I love, especially my husband, feel like even though they have imperfections and struggles galore, do I make them feel worthy of love and connection? Do I bring my husband up to feel like the man he is? Do I make my husband feel like he is enough? And what can I do to make my husband have a strong feeling of worth and belonging? I realized that I have to feel vulnerability and put myself out there, with my heart on my sleeve, to fortify my bonds of love for my husband, thus strengthening both of our sense of worthiness and of love, true love.

The Beauty of a Wine Walk

My husband and I have been on a mini kick of surprising each other with dates.  This past Friday I surprised my husband with a wine walk.  All the little shops and businesses on Main St. of a neighboring town were open, catering hors d'oeuvres and hosting to local wineries.  Each store hosted at least one winery with more than one wine to try.  Here were our tries with our "connoisseur" descriptions.

Kyra Wines

Pinot Noir

Not too bold. Smooth. Nice.

Viognier*

My Favorite. Clear. Refreshing. Easy. Smooth.

Chardonnay

No remark.

Forbidden White

Blend. Sweet. Wet. Easy Down.

Cabernet Franc

No remark.

Viognier

No remark.

Riverenza

Blend of Syrah & Merlot. Full.

Barbera*

Husband's Favorite. Starts tart, ends sweet.

Mistura Blanco

Cool. Fresh. Oaky.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Flavorful.

Riesling

Not too sweet. Refreshing.

Merlot

Leaves mouth cottony. Cotton went away when paired with chicken sausage.

Pinos Gris

Cool with soft aftertaste.

Fortissimo

Syrah based blend. Tangy. Sweet.

Intrigue

Merlot based blend. Tasted that same as the Fortissimo.

Malbec

Bold. Powerful. Dryish.

Sangiovese

Nothing to write home about.

I always knew that I knew nothing about wine, but this wine walk accentuated that point.  It was difficult enough to try and describe the wines without reusing the same words over and over again.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed pretending to know how to describe each wine that swirled in my mouth, because I did swirl. As you can see the most well thought out descriptions were "no remark" and "nothing to write home about."  The wines that had no remarks, I'm not sure what happened.  I wrote as we walked and sipped so somehow along the way, those wines got overlooked. 

The whole experience was novel to us and a pleasant first.  It will hopefully not be our a last wine walk.