OOH LA LA! #37

in defense of using a whole bag of cheese for a single recipe

Have you ever really looked at the inside of a strawberry?

I’ve been in the habit of cutting up strawberries regularly since this is my cat’s favorite treat, but I don’t know if I’ve ever really looked deeply at it until this week. If you look closely, you can see lines from the seeds on the side to the center and it sort of looks like tree roots or a heart with veins, and I think that’s really beautiful.

It’s funny how you can do something for so long, but not notice what you’re doing. I would like to slow down more, as Thich Nhat Hanh has instructed to “live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.”

This week’s OOH LA LA! list includes: whole bag of cheese, mixed beverage at home, watching people watching people.

I like to make a big batch of dinner so I can have leftovers for lunch. On Wednesday, I made a casserole and while layering on the dairy-free cheese, I stopped just before using the whole thing. I was about to put back an almost-empty bag into the refrigerator when I realized how silly it is to save something instead of using it up, especially when using it up means a better experience right now. With this new revelation about savoring and not denying myself pleasure, I sprinkled the rest of the whole bag of cheese on top and set the dish off into the oven.

All week I’ve been drinking orange juice with coconut milk and coconut water per a “nighttime mocktail” recipe I found on Pinterest. From what I understand, there’s something about this combination that’s supposed to help slow the body’s production of the stress hormone cortisol. I don’t know how it works, but I do know each time I make a mixed beverage at home, I feel brand new. It’s even better if I pour it into a fancy little glass and sip slowly, like I’m beachside in the sun, with all the time in the world to rest.

I was on a crowded L train heading back to Brooklyn when I noticed a seated man playing a game with colored squares on his iPad. I was standing opposite him so I couldn’t see exactly what he was playing, but a couple to his right definitely could and I smiled watching them, watching him. Some might say proper train etiquette is to keep your eyes forward or down, to avoid awkward eye contact with a stranger, but I disagree. I think part of the beauty of public spaces is watching people watching people which makes me remember how similar we all are, how interconnected, how wonderful that we are not alone.

Thanks for reading!

If you’re keen to share, reply to this email with a few sentences about your OOH LA LA! moments or experiences and I’ll post it in the next email!

XOXO,

LJ

“When you are washing the dishes, washing the dishes must be the most important thing in your life. Just as when you are drinking tea, drinking tea must be the most important thing in your life. Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the whole world revolves -slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.” - Thich Nhat Hanh