Pastry Preview.

So this week, it's my turn to bring breakfast to the poetry circle. I decided to go a little overboard (for a weekday) and try making Nutella-banana pastry pockets. I knew they'd be yummy with the fancy coffee that Ali brews.

 As we all know, I've flubbed plenty of (supposedly easy) recipes in the past, and since I'd never made these I wanted to preview the situation this evening. I went to Publix and got some pastry shells. I already had the fruit and Nutella at home.

It was delicious and easy. I sighed with satisfaction when I bit into the first pastry. I only made two for tonight so I gave the other one to my neighbor, Aaron, who is always willing to be my food-guinea-pig.  He agreed that it was a success. I might have to go buy more of these pastry shells. It looks like you can stuff the things with just about anything.

Breakfast of Wordsmiths.

I'm really enjoying my new poetry circle. It's just three of us so far, but we manage to keep things lively and constructive. This morning we talked about some of our favorite "famous" poems before we read our own work. We ate a funny breakfast of fruit, whole grain muffins and chocolate chip cookies. We made plans to do "something cultural" together this weekend.

 I love having poets as friends--they understand when I exclaim over the shadows of trees. They find everything either amusing or tragic. It certainly takes the boredom out of my week.

Pavement Angel.

Since I moved into this house about 4 and a half years ago, I've loved the driveway--it's large, smooth, and perfect for lying on my back and gazing up. If you've never tried lying in your own driveway, I highly recommend it.

When my neighbor Aaron first moved in, I was in the driveway the first time he saw me.

"What are you doing?" he asked, amused.

"Just looking at the sky," I replied. "I love to watch the clouds and the trees. Plus it's good for my back."

He ended up joining me, and we've been friends ever since.

Today has been a perfect day for the driveway. It's chilly outside but not cold and pavement is clean and dry. I love watching the naked, winter trees against the blue backdrop.

People ask me if I'm afraid of getting run over. They ask if I'm scared of bugs crawling in my hair, of leaves and "random yard stuff" getting all over me.

The answer is no. In fact, I think part of the joy in driveway-lying is that it's not perfect--that ants might crawl all over me, that I'm vulnerable. It helps me get back to my basic self and gain a new, weird perspective on things. From down there, I see the under carriage of my car. I see the bumpy terrain of the ground. I see the cat as a giant.

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Happy Birthday to Eating Gardenias!

Today is the official birthday of my beloved blog. Eating Gardenias is one year old! So far writing it has been a wonderful experience. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. Thanks for reading!

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Walkin' (For Your Love).

My car broke down last night. I was just driving to a friend's house for dinner when my beloved 2003 Saturn puttered out and stopped. I found out this morning that my vehicle's repair bill is MUCH higher than I anticipated. So I've spent a good portion of today carless--fortunately I mostly work from home these days!

After sharing a bagel this morning with Stefan at the neighborhood bagel shop, Stefan offered to drive us back to my pad, which is down the street.

"Nah. I'll walk," I said.

And over the weekend, we enjoyed the 2nd Sunday celebration--a monthly event in Charleston when King Street becomes a pedestrian-only zone. Everyone has lunch in the street, walks around in the middle of the road, listens to the street musicians, and whatever else. It's pretty nice. It reminded me that being on foot is not all bad.

Winter: An Ode.

Today has been a cold one for Charleston, South Carolina. The high was 40 degrees and the low is 20. To those of you who live up North, it may not seem like much. But this particular winter has been so dang warm, it's pretty much a shock to all of us. Unfortunately, the weather will return to highs around 70 this weekend--which is par for the course this year, it seems.

As a southern gal, I've never had a big dose of "winter." Sure, we still get those three months that we CALL winter, but it's not the same. I suppose the fact that I've never really had much winter in my life explains why I sometimes pine for a real winter--wool socks and all. I don't particularly like snow ('cause it's wet, and cold and wet make a bad combo) but I do love the cold air. Oh, but believe me, I've had plenty of people tell me that if I lived in Vermont, I'd be hating life. That's probably true. But a Charleston cold snap? That I think I can deal with. Call me a fan of "Winter Lite" or "Yankee Autumn" if you'd like, but it's still more than what a few folks around me can handle!

I appear to often be alone in my love for brisk air, especially in the southern region. My sister shivers if the mercury dips below 50. My ex-boss would always exclaim "We need BEACH weather!" if there was a slight nip in the air.  Just about everyone I know would rather drink Pina Coladas beside a swimming pool year round, than experience four distinct seasons. So I decided to write this blog about my love for cooler weather. There are a number of things I appreciate about the season, including but not limited to: good hair days, oysters, creative fashion, cute socks, poignant novels, roaring fires, gooey marshmallows, beer you can't see through, and makeup that doesn't melt away.

But it's the mood of winter that I crave, even more so than the perks i just mentioned. Winter has always seemed like a reflective time; it's a time for writing, for planning and for figuring out the coming year. Spring is so progressive and action-packed, I need these weeks to daydream and ponder.

Don't you?

Resolution Accomplished!

It's not often that I can claim I finished a resolution the first week of January. (Heck, I usually forget about them altogether.) But this year, I actually made one that I was able to stick to.

I decided to buy subscriptions to three of the magazines that I buy every dang month. This might not sound like a big deal, but I gotta tell ya, I never subscribe to anything--I just pay cover prices! When you're a die-hard mag addict like I am, that gets expensive! Stupid, huh?

So, today I finally filled out those annoying card inserts that flutter everywhere when you're in the middle of reading an article, and placed them in the mailbox to be picked up. I'm super proud of myself.

It sure beats trying to lose fifteen pounds.

Two Thousand Twelve.

Happy New Year, Friends!

New Year's Eve was great fun. It started with amazingly beautiful weather, so Stefan and I took a bike ride around the James Island County Park. The park Christmas lights were having their last hurrah and we saw them one last time, late in the afternoon. We also spent time on the Fisherman's Dock by the marsh. So peaceful.

That night, we made the rounds. First, delicious local oysters at Bowen's Island. Then we headed to Folly Beach and saw the glamourous, sparkly pair of flip-flops that the City of Folly dropped on its NYE crowd. Just like Times Square, according to Genessa.

We finished the night with fireworks and hellos to our neighbors. Yesterday was lazy; today has consisted of cleaning and clearance shopping. I can't decide if I'm 100% ready to have a normal week this week, but it's coming whether I like it or not!

Here's to 2012...May we all follow our hearts.