There was this summer, somewhere between heartache and finding myself, that I spent lying in the grass, reading Harper Lee and everything J.D. Salinger has ever written - Franny & Zooey twice. Years before that, I spent the summer months playing baseball with my brothers, singing "Wild Thing" and trying to look just as cool as Charlie Sheen [...]
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31st birthday cake
Several years ago, I got stopped at airport security. "Where are you traveling to?", the security lady asked me. "Florence", I told her. "Are you traveling alone?" I answered that I was. "How old are you?" I told her my age. While she was obviously trying to conceal it, I saw the lady glance at her colleague and chuckle. [...]
Read Moreplum almond spelt cake
I wake up in darkness. The cold September air enters through cracks and open windows, emptying the house of the smells and worries of the night before. I wrap myself in a blanket and cling to my coffee cup just a little more than usual, trying to absorb its warmth by way of touch, smell and taste. The windows are black; reflective canvases impossible to penetrate. There really is no sense in staring outside, but I do it anyway.
Read Moregrilled peaches w/ mascarpone whipped cream, sweet dukkah & chamomile honey
I don’t know if it was the three weeks we spent in a country where people live with relatively little means, options are always limited and contact with the outside world is scarce, or the shock of coming back home and immediately being bombarded with information, images, opinions and, perhaps most of all, choices, but it suddenly feels like my life is just a little too crowded.
Read Morepear frangipane slices
I loved setting the table for Easter breakfast when I was a kid. I got to use a bright tablecloth, yellow napkins and fresh flowers. I got to search the dining room cupboard for candles shaped like eggs and baby chickens and I got to put wine glasses on the table. For us! [...]
Read Morewalnut & cacao nib granola
Paralysis.
Paralysis is what I experienced through most of my PhD. Paralysis is what I've fought so hard to overcome. And paralysis is what struck me again this weekend. Unexpectedly, but undeniably [...]
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