I was super lucky to meet Brooke (or Cookie, as I like to call her) early on in my California days. She welcomed me into her circle of friends from day one and as a result I've met some really lovely ladies and had many a fun day/night with their crew. Last night I hosted a small dinner at my teeny apartment to say "thanks" to 3 of my favorite California girls; Brooke, Kim and Janice. It probably seems silly to basically say (Golden Girls style) "thank you for being a friend!" but I guess, for me, it really has meant a lot to always be included in their adventures. I've found it very easy to be myself with them and I'm incredibly grateful for their kindness and generosity. As my favorite line from happythankyoumoreplease says, "With gratitude, the Universe is eternally abundant." and I'm a big fan of actively expressing gratitude these days. Selfishly, I also just thoroughly enjoy their company and wanted an excuse to hang with them :) Unfortunately my Italian blood failed me big time and my spaghetti sauce turned out pretty bland, which was a bummer. But at least my appetizer spread looked cute... Check out the GORGEOUS bouquet of flowers Janice brought with her...she put it together herself! So beautiful and thoughtful. It looks awesome in my kitchen :) After multiple tries with the self timer, this was the best shot we got (post 3 bottles of wine and dinner topics ranging from kids to travel to accidentally using the word c*nt to a coworkers wife....so really, what do you expect?) :) It's hard to be 3,000 miles away from the friends I've known and loved my whole life, but the community of people I've managed to build for myself out here makes it much easier to be apart from them. I hope to make new friends at every stage of my life--it's a pleasure and joy to share with people, to learn and grow and make human connections. Being open and authentic with others has the potential to create beautiful relationships. This, for me, is what life is all about.
Love and Light, Trish
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Follow @thegratefullife on Twitter for Gratitweets and general good vibes :) On a completely unrelated note, I want another slice of this pizza. In Gratitude,
Trish As promised, a few snapshots from my experience at Bubba's Fine Diner (where grease meets organic!).... I'm a real sucker for any place that's been featured on The Food Network, so I had to try the Ahi Tuna Potstickers: These guys were pretty good! Not mind blowing. But pretty good for sure. I'm also a sucker for any dish that includes seafood + deep fried + on a sandwich. Behold, my dungeness crab BLT (which I liked way better than the pot stickers): As I mentioned in my post about settling into my apartment at the speed of a turtle, I've been on the hunt for things to help bring my living space to life. This weekend I snagged two awesome antique furniture pieces; one from a shop in San Anselmo, and one from the Alameda Flea Market. This guy fits perfectly in my kitchen: And this book shelf adds a wonderfully playful pop of color near my very neutral bed (can you tell green is my favorite color?). It also is quite practical for a book worm/hoarder like myself who refuses to give away any of her favorite novels and thus needs a place to store them: My friends and I woke up at the booty crack of dawn on Sunday to venture to the flea market at Alameda, which takes place only on the first Sunday of every month (7am departure on a Sunday = slapping my cozy bed in the face) and were pretty frozen the whole time (did you know that August in SF is winter? Can't wait for September!). But I love strolling all of the booths for treasures, dreaming up ways to decorate future homes, sipping on coffee and snacking from the food trucks. I also purchased these two little sea glass bottles at the market. $5 for both. Oh so love them. It was a quiet but productive weekend. Which as we know, counts as life, too. :)
Hope you're well! In Gratitude, Trish Dang, Cavallari, get your own style...
I kid, I kid. She's super cute and I get a big kick out of this :) In Gratitude, Trish The Plant Cafe's "Skin Refresher" organic juice (made with cucumber, apple, watermelon & strawberry) is so delicious. If you've been wanting to try out the benefits of juicing but are afraid of essentially sipping salad through a straw (believe me, I hear ya) this is a great mix to start with as it's on the sweeter, fruitier side. I mean just look at me. My skin is basically glowing (from my computer screen? No! from the juice! Just go with it!)... Arts and crafts are awesome. While chasing the sun last weekend (dang, San Francisco, you is COLD right now, homie...) I convinced my friend to stop into a pottery shop to be the most cliche version of sad sack Sally single girls while painting a bowl or two. I kid, I kid. I'd paint pottery regardless of my relationship status! I chose a simple piece to place in the wall nook in my entryway to toss my keys, loose change, etc in. It was quiet, peaceful and relaxing decorating it. I especially liked when the 30-something mom who was helping her daughter paint next to us gushed over how great it is to be in your 20's living in the city. Preach it, girl. She was also shocked to find out I'm 27; "Oh my gosh hunny, please don't take that offensively. It's going to be amazing when you're 40 and you look 33!". Not offended. My baby face and I thank you :) This little guy will be fully dried, glazed and polished for my pick up this weekend...right down the street from where I will be having lunch: WHAT. A restaurant that combines my two great loves? Diner food (total Jersey girl) AND organics (who lives in California)? Give it to me. Give it to me fast and hard. I will completely kiss and tell after eating here on Saturday...get ready for that post next week!
Happy Friday, darlings! Sending you good thoughts for sunny and fabulous weekends :) Love and Light, Trish I have a new trick for centering my wandering mind.
When I start pondering and dreaming my life away, thinking of the past or the future too intensely, I look around me and say to myself... "this is it, sweetie. it's happening. right now. this is life, too. be here. life is flowing; your presence is requested..." Yesterday my company launched a great new feature on our site very early in the morning. I came into the office around 7am to cook breakfast for the guys who have been working so hard all these months, including many long nights and early mornings. It was the perfect moment to practice being fully present; to engage all of my sleepy senses. I hummed along to the deep, soothing tracks on my Otis Redding Pandora station while cutting fruit; sneaking pieces of fresh watermelon and grapes, savoring their sweet and juicy flavors. Taking in the smells of french toast on the griddle and sticky buns in the oven I sent waves of gratitude out for the abundance of food in our tiny kitchen--for the kind people I work for and with, for the independence this career has gifted me. And then for a variety of small blessings like the warmth of the water while I washed my hands and the speed at which my fingers were able to slice and dice, mix and pour. It wasn't a particularly exhilarating morning. Nothing profound happened to me. My day continued as normal after our breakfast feast; phone calls, emails, errands. But it was good to practice being fully present in my surroundings. It yielded a calm and quiet heart for the rest of the day. Because this is life, too. The small moments, the uneventful, count as life. And if you think about it, there are millions more of these kinds of moments than any other over the span of a lifetime. We might as well invest ourselves in them, bring them attention and care in the same way we do the moments of heightened emotions, big change or milestones. Settling in fully, mindfully, to my morning of quiet cooking was life, too. It's flowing with or without you, but your presence is requested. Are you ready to show up? Love and light, Trish I'm writing this on a bit of high right now, so please excuse me if I'm all over the place!
Today (Saturday) I decided at the last minute to hit up another dance class at ODC. Since I decided so last minute and the bus typically takes about 45 minutes from my neighborhood to get to the studio, I two-fingers-in-the-mouth whistled a cab down (pretty impressed with my city girl skills on that one) and trekked up to the Mission. "That'll be $14 for the class today.", the receptionist said. "Oh, no, I have a pass." I replied. "No...that pass expired. It was only good for 90 days." ...rarrr. woof. waaa. boo. hiss. hrumph. *Insert 5 minutes of sitting on the curb outside to collect my incredibly annoyed self* The way I saw it I had two choices; I could head back home and wallow in grumpiness that I hadn't been told of the 90 day expiration and thus wasted a lot of money, or I could suck it up and pay for the single class since I'd already gotten motivated and dressed and hailed a cab up to the studio. Showing up is half the battle, after all. I chose the class. Thankfully. The beat starts, my mood instantly lifts. There are so many lessons in dance that can be applied to other aspects of life. I'm grateful this class always reminds me of that. "You're planners, aren't you?", Micaya said during our choreography. "With dance, you can't always plan ahead or think of your next move. You have to be *present*. You have to be present in *this* move." At one point I tried a move that made me look a little more hillbilly cheerleader than bad ass hip hop dancer. As I was giggling at myself Micaya walked over to give me a little one-on-one attention. "I know...", I sighed/laughed. We did the move again (nailed it!). "See girl, I knew you had it in ya!", she cheered. Then she turned to me and said "You've got flavor." and walked back to the center of instruction. ....................... :) ........................(that's my shit eating grin) Micaya--a veteran, amazing, confident, positive, encouraging, honest and ri-dic-u-lously talented dancer just told *me* that I have flavor?!? Le sigh. Blushing for days. Post class she handed me her instruction schedule and said "You should come to my intermediate class." "OK, yea, I'll try", I blushed. "Yea, why not? Por que no?", she smiled. Why not? Because I feel silly enough looking in your BEGINNERS class...I cannot imagine the levels of awkward I could reach in intermediate. Because I barely have enough self esteem to put myself out there surrounded by fellow "amateurs"...the idea of being the worst in a class may send me into humiliation shock. And because I'm so out of shape that I'm afraid a more advanced level my send my heart into *actual* shock. I didn't say any of that, though. I was flying high off her compliment. I'm stretching and growing and allowing myself to be vulnerable in life; I'm giving it all I've got with a smile and a joyous heart. I'm laughing off mistakes, moving forward from the past and working to be present, aware, mindful as much as possible. Why not have the same attitude in dance, too? So what do you think? Should I bring my flavorful self to an intermediate class? In Gratitude, Trish (Full Quote):
"Our lives are mere flashes of light in an infinitely empty Universe. In 12 years of education the most important lesson I have learned is that what we see as “normal” living is truly a travesty of our potential. In a society so governed by superficiality, appearances, and petty economics, dreams are more real than anything in the “real world.” Refuse normalcy. Beauty is everywhere, love is endless, and joy bleeds from our everyday existence. Embrace it. I love all of you, all my friends, family and community. I am ceaselessly grateful from the bottom of my heart for everyone. The only thing I can ask of you is to stay free of materialism. Remember that every day contains a Universe of potential; exhaust it. Live and love so intensely that when death comes there is nothing left for him to take. Wealth is love, music, sports, learning, family, and freedom. Above all, stay gold." - Dominic Owen Mallary In Gratitude, Trish This Bon Iver cover of one of my favorite songs from childhood (picture me sitting by my boombox, cycling through cassette tapes)--Bonnie Rait's "I Can't Make You Love Me"-- has been looping on my iPod pretty much all weekend. His sound is so unique; deliciously strange and haunting. The kind of sound that makes you feel it in your gut.
The change in his voice around the 3:20 mark is my favorite moment. It immediately brought this quote to mind: "One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain."-Bob Marley Listen all the way through if you can; he samples "Nick of Time" right at the end, too. So beautiful. I freaking love music. In Gratitude, Trish |
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