But, for a short period, it would also be refreshing to go somewhere where we’re not surrounded by things. We live surrounded by so much abundance, but we (or I, at least) almost never see it. If I were to sit down and try to count every little item that I own personally, it would probably take days. Yet, I don’t feel I have that much – certainly less than others. And when I go shopping, there are always things I can find to desire.

It just makes me wonder: what would it be like to look around me and see that all the items I own were ones I made with my own hands? What would it be like if I had only one, or at most, two outfits to wear, instead of changing clothes every day? (I’d certainly spend less time in front of the mirror trying to decide what to wear.) What would it be like to grow my own food, raise my own cattle, harvest and slaughter and cook, with my own two hands? (True, I don’t necessarily need to go back in time to do that…but I would, to enter a state where there were no other options.)

And I think, what would it be like to have family not only be the center but also be your entire universe? To have your days filled with common chores. To have all your aunts and sisters and cousins around you working together to make things. What would it be like to create everything we consume?

In part, I think it would be powerful, empowering, humbling, and lovely. But I also think it would really make me appreciate what I do have when I came back to this time and this place. I do appreciate what I have on some levels, but this would add a whole new dimension.

Maybe we can no longer really live in a place where we create everything we consume. But it might be worthwhile to try to create more than we consume. Or, at the very least, be more mindful of how much we consume versus how much we create. I hope when I do leave this earth, I’ll not have just used, but I’ll also have given. I hope, when I leave, I leave behind something worth the space I have taken.

What would you do, if you could travel in time?

The Rules
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Next week’s challenge: My worst fear and its consequences
FOR A MILLION EXTRA BONUS POINTS: If you want to take on an extra challenge, try to write a story in which you don’t tell us explicitly what your worst fear is, but you play out in your head and through words what would happen if your worst fear was realized. We just might surprise ourselves with what we find here.

We chatted over coffee…
(instead of working, which is supposedly what we went to the coffee shop to do…).

And we went shopping at my favorite store…

(Oh, Anthropologie. I would shop there all the time if it wouldn’t bankrupt me.)

And we wandered, eating gelato over girl talk, while I took pictures.

I don’t know why I love this little fountain so much. Maybe it’s the colors.

And this fabulous old theatre. I love it too.

Funny, come to think of it, this post does in a way kind of coincide with still life too. It’s like I pushed pause on this day and just enjoyed a moment of nothing really happening, while everything else around me continued on its merry way.

Life’s interesting like that, isn’t it?

For other still life captures, head on over to Beth’s website, I Should Be Folding Laundry. Join the You Capture challenge yourself!

We were joined by a couple up for a mini vacation from LA, and having such a small group, our wine tour talk quickly devolved from the usual local history tidbits, to which everyone politely nods with bemused interest, to the latest news about the pot farm just beyond the ridge and how much tax money we’re wasting on suicide barriers on the nearby bridge. Not your mother’s wine tour, I must say – but infinitely more entertaining. We also more readily herdable, being a smaller group, which meant we got the added bonus of hitting up a fifth winery since we had time.

The thing I loved most was that the tour did not have preset winery destinations. Our driver asked us what kind of wines we liked, what we were in the mood for, then took us to his recommended spots. We hit up Brander, Lincourt, Gainey, Saarloos, and Artiste. My husband and I had planned to buy one bottle of wine. We took home three.

Of the five, Artiste was the only one we had been to before, and it was the last one on our list. I would like to tell you their wines were amazing, fabulous, and not-to-be-missed. But as it was the fifth winery that day, my wine palate had disintegrated from detecting floral, citrus, or spice and earth tones, to only being able to distinguish between whites and reds. Though, the sweetness of the final port did shine through enough for me to smack my lips on it, find a scrap book and draw a picture of a turtle. My husband added to the drawing: his turtle humped my turtle. You can see what a state we were in.

We ended up buying one bottle from Brander and two from Lincourt – all of them were whites of some kind or another. I think the heat of the day ruined my taste for reds this trip around. But the winery I truly enjoyed visiting was Saarloos & Sons.
Family owned and operated, this winery has quirky-yet-cool staff members who love to talk to you and tell stories. It also has the most AMAZING cupcakes…I might have to say they even beat Crushcakes. They were oh so moist, and flavored with wine. But the part I loved best was the aesthetic: vintage Victorian with a hint of modern, and a twist of grunge.



The day ended with dinner at Via Maestra 42, the top-notch, authentic Italian restaurant who catered our wedding. All in all it was a fabulous day and a magical way to spend an anniversary. For all you Californians out there, or others near a winery, this is a great vacation idea for these tight times when you want to keep it close to home.

Step 1
So to start the pampering, I began with a 90 minute yoga session, to stretch and meditate and relax. Then, using this recipe I found for a lavendar milk bath, I immersed myself in the pure luxury of bath salts and essential oils. The recipe called for nerouli oil, but I could only find a 5 ml bottle for $40 – a little too much for my blood. I used a combination of grapefruit and jasmine instead of the nerouli oil.

It smelled so heavenly! Complete with tealights and my favorite music, true bliss was achieved. There is something about floating in lavender and cream that makes you feel so soft, feminine, and sexy. I began to wish my husband wasn’t out of town! Had I known about this, I would have made sure to do this on the day of my wedding. I also left the bath undrained for a few hours extra after I finished and my bathroom smelled deliciously of lavender. P.S. It helps to keep well hydrated with this bath. I felt so relaxed, soft and suppliant, but I was definitely thirsty afterward.

Step 2
Then I began the facial treatments, using the recipes I found on Our Best Bites. They were all amazing. I started with a steam of lemon and mint. It felt so soothing and calming, not to mention lovely just smelling the lemons and mint leaves.

When I finished the steam, I exfoliated with a paste of oatmeal and baking soda. I used regular rolled oats, but I suspect baby rolled oats might have worked better, being smaller and easier to mush.

I must admit I felt a bit stupid plastering oatmeal to my face, but I was home alone, so whatever. But I enjoyed the way it made for a gentle scrub. And it was most satisfyingly followed by a cleansing honey yogurt mask.

Made of yogurt and cucumber with a swirl of honey, it was super cooling and soothing on my face—once I actually stopped sneaking tastes and managed to put it on.

Next I tried the tightening strawberry-lemon mask. It’s a simple mixture of strawberries, lemon juice and cornstarch (though I ended up needing quite a bit more lemon juice than the recipe called for to make a decent paste), but it did wonders for my skin.

I looked something like a horrific strawberry shortcake when it dried, and this one was probably the hardest to wash off. But when I rinsed it all off, my skin was suddenly soft and glowing.

After all the masks, my skin was definitely ready for some moisturizing, and apparently avocados are amazing moisturizers. I made a final mask with avocado, and added honey for brightening and tightening, and egg yolk and olive oil for softening and moisturizing.

And TA DA! When it was all said and done, my skin was so soft, smooth and glowy. I think the strawberry-lemon mask and the avocado finish worked the best on my skin. I couldn’t believe how well these homemade facials worked. Makes me wonder why we pay so much for them, when we can get just as well from all natural ingredients available at the local Farmer’s Market? Most of the chemical ones we get at the beauty shops are made from natural ingredients anyway, might as well go whole hog, no? I am so doing this again, next chance I get, and sharing with my mom and sister next time I go home.

Step 3
And because all the above did not constitute quite enough girly time for myself, I popped in Pride & Prejudice (the BBC version of course – these things must be done properly!) and spent the rest of the day watching Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy dance, while I ate fresh strawberries and soft-baked cookies. YUM. I {heart} Colin Firth. Gentlemanliness is so sexy. And under-rated these days I think. Plus, there is no more pleasing expression than that of a man looking with love upon his beloved.

All told, almost 12 hours of solid pampering = a totally contented Jade. So, ladies, pamper yourselves immediately and pamper yourselves madly. And let me know if these recipes worked for you too!