This is what tonight looks like, with the occasional addition of a mousy grey feline in and out of the vicinity:
I’ve decided having a blog about your life [and generating content for it] greases a certain ‘tuning in’ … an awareness to instances worth writing about, without the blog superseding the life itself. It’s a bizarre concept. Taking into account how edited it is (Rob got the wrong cottage cheese, I reacted poorly; I didn’t blog that), truth is in our hands. Rather than diddle around that conundrum, I think it’s caused me to live in the moment. Many moments. And much more.
Blogs aside, I’ve also decided wine facilitates a sort of ‘in the moment’ magic. And the ineluctable effect of wine aside, opening a bottle becomes an unspoken commitment—one to make a moment special. Especially a bottle you’ve connected with before.
It’s why I honestly do feel bad for people who don’t ‘get’ wine for what it is—what it can be. You can have 100 chicken parms, but will you honestly look at chicken parm on a menu and think, “Do you remember when… and we had just… and you were wearing… before it started to pour… that was incredible.”
This bottle? It’s a favorite of mine… long since documented. [A must-read!] I earned this today… so with Rob at mountain altitude and my head in the clouds, I opted to cycle right from work over to Purdy’s (where I caught a glimpse of Joseph Carr signing some bottles, but was too shy to say hello) and lay down the plastic for a bottle.
I wanted to implement a sense of appreciation about this night; I didn’t want to catch the clock at 10 and wonder where the time had gone. So I opened it, I let it breathe while stroking Eli’s shoulder blades, fiddled around with the ring on my finger, thought about my Granny Marge, poured myself a glass, and settled in to the important task of living in the moment.
Then, I photographed it.
-Carey
I love this post. Sadly, I have to remind myself to live in the moment, espesh with The Trips, a lot, and to just unclench where they’re concerned. Your post is a perfect reminder to do just that.
Happy Friday!
Shannan
Love it! I think I’ll get a bottle of wine for Friday night in honor of living in the moment. I’ve found after a few sips, I can just slow down, and be there for my kids, instead of worrying about a dirty kitchen and a couch covered in laundry. On a side note, do you find that Pour la Victoire shoes run small? There is a wicked pair on sale at shopbop, and I can’t decide :/
Hi there! So glad you’re inspired to do a little something for yourself… it’s so important. And what Fridays are made for, in my opinions.
I actually think they run perfectly true to size. I have two pairs of flats (I’ve gotten both on ebay) and I wear an 8, sometimes an 8.5 in European sizes, and the 8s are perfect on me. I just scored those Pelle Moda suede booties that have been on there for ages for a trip South coming up… very excited. Let me know which ones they are if you get them!
Scored these!! I won a 100 gift certificate from salebite a few months ago, so I only had to pay 115. Gotta love that, the thrill of the hunt 🙂 http://www.shopbop.com/lang-calf-lace-wedge-bootie/vp/v=1/845524441876834.htm?folderID=2534374302079716&fm=browse-brand-shopbysize-viewall
Thanks for reminding me to pick up a great bottle for tonight, for no apparent reason, just being at home with my love! I’ll browse some of your recommendations or go with my personal favorite, La Crema Pinot Noir (which is sadly rather overpriced in Montreal, sigh).
Laura and I talk about this a lot. We often wonder about/are envious of other blogger’s seemingly magical, fairy-dust sprinkled lives that are never bogged down with things like…life and responsibilities. I think you make such a good point though, about tuning in to the things that are happening around you that you often let slip by or don’t even notice in the first place.
We sometimes will play a game when we’re out where we’ll fake blog post – first describing our evening in the way we think of it – very “normal” and uneventful (happy hour at the wine bar, went for tacos for dinner and ended up at a bar dancing at 2am) and then we’ll describe it like some other bloggers would and how it actually was kinda special or more interesting than we thought. It’s all about how you perceive your own life and living consciously in the moment.
Did any of that make sense? Anyway, basically what I’m saying is I’m picking up what you’re laying down. 🙂
I want to be you when I grow up. This post is exceedingly lovely.
This made me think about creating the photo diary. Take at least one picture every day, something to remind you of that one particular day. Much easier and way less stressful than writing the traditional diary. How many days simply slip by, when a simple photo would jog your memory of all those little moments, much like what you are doing in your wonderful blog? I’m inspired!
Ditto to everything said above. Great post.
Did I miss the part where you identify those beautiful boots? I don’t believe I have a pair like that in my vast collection of black boots.
This is so true! Laughing and enjoying a wonderful bottle of wine with friends really makes you appreciate the moment so much more than food every could!
They look like LD Tuttle “Bard” boots with a straight-across lacing.