Have you ever come home from a friend’s house feeling inspired by something she said or did or made?
We spent the day at a friend’s house last week and I came home feeling inspired by a pitcher filled with ice-cold water and lemons, chocolate chips in the pancakes, and a loaf of homemade bread cooling on the counter.
Such simple things, but as someone once said, “It’s never about what it’s about.” What I’m really responding to, I suppose, is that my friend found time to do these things, to slice the lemons and dig out the chocolate chips and make the bread, and that these small touches do matter. My friend’s as busy as anyone, but she’s always been so good about creating space to be creative, even—especially if—it means saying “no” to things that don’t support her time with her family or her own interests.
And in a world where everyone is running around like those proverbial headless chickens, anything that takes time can feel so luxurious.
So when we got home, I sliced up a lemon, dug out a pitcher, filled it up, and put it in the fridge. On Father’s Day, we had chocolate chips in the pancakes. And maybe we’ll even make a loaf of her bread. Such simple gestures, but they make me feel like I’m slowing down life and enjoying it just a little more.
I love this post. The friend who similarly inspired me?–she loved the kitchen and had a pantry her husband had built her, always stocked with both necessaries and unnecessaries. She even made up a checklist before marketing, with every imaginable item she might need listed under Costco or Target or Produce Stand, for example, so she could just check the we-need items off, and voila–she had her grocery list. If she had wanted lemons or chocolate chips, or if she had been in a bread-baking mood, every imaginable ingredient would have been right at her fingertips. Getting properly stocked is always my challenge. But it’s nice to have friends who regularly function as our impetus, don’t you think?
I love the idea of a well-stocked pantry–ready for anything! I’ve been thinking about this the last few days and realize I have quite a list of things I do/try to do that were directly inspired by friends! Comfortably crisp sheets on the bed, homemade crepes for breakfast, candles (actually burning them!), cool gift wrapping/packaging, and budgeting strategies.
I am always inspired when people seem extend hospitality effortlessly. Maybe one day I will be like that! I am going to dig out a pitcher right now!