Happy New Year, Chasing Light, and the Best Roast Chicken

Happiest 2016 to all of you!  This post is first and foremost a wish for that, but also a mishmash of recent happenings and things to come.

If you have ever dabbled in photography, then you know what it means to “chase light”.  There is even an Instagram hashtag dedicated to it – which makes it a legit thing, of course.  Last month, I spent a lot of time doing that as the skies in Upstate New York turned from a golden fall hue to a blah winter grey.

One of my favorite authors/poets/Insta accounts – Tyler Knott Gregson – wrote this:  “Chase the light, whatever and wherever it may be for you.  Chase it.”  It’s so simple, but when I first read that well over a year ago, it resonated with me, and I’ve been thinking about it since.  For me, it means to follow the happy, essentially; do the things that not only keep you afloat, but fill you up too.  So, on this mini-blog reprieve, I’ve been doing exactly that.

I went to L.A., which though it may sound weird, was really healing for me.  I felt like a completely different human than the one who left there a few years ago, in the best way possible.  I ran on the beach, went to actual yoga classes, ate numerous kale salads (I am never not going to love kale, even if it is so 2014.), and met with people who have been very integral to helping me grow this space, whom I had never seen face-to-face – and we hashed out all kinds of new projects that I am very excited to share in the coming months!

I spent the weekend on Catalina Island with one of my favorite people in the world, and we walked and talked, drank wine, had a mini hotel room party complete with comedy and Christmas carols, ate a funny breakfast, watched other tourists zip-lining, walked a bit more, played mini-golf (I lost!  Boo.), and then went to the arcade where I redeemed myself and we took home some sweet friendship bracelets…as is tradition.  It was the best.

Then I flew home, and hopped on a train to New York City for the annual holiday trip that I take with my Mom and sister.  Mostly, we love to wander when we are there; in and out of all of the shops, through the green markets, and up and down the decorated streets.  We ate a whole lot of Thai and Indian food, and finished our trip with a takeout pizza and cheapo bottle of wine, devoured while sitting on the pretty floral carpet of our hotel room at the Waldorf.  I guess you could say it was our laid back version of “Eloise at the Plaza”.  The pizza was fantastic, but the giggles and laughs that ensued as a result of that scenario, were better.

Other happiness-inducing things I have done in my down-time:  tackled the ever-growing piles of books and magazines next to my bed, cleaned everything, created a new Tumblr account for an extra dose of inspiration, practiced even more yoga, snuggled Sneaks as often as possible, shared lots of Prosecco and stories with my cousins on Christmas Eve, and perfected my roast chicken recipe, of which I intend to share with all of you – soon.

Cheers to more happy, light-filled, favorite, “best” (Like this chicken!) things in 2016!

XX