simple.

(simple green salad i made for lunch)

simple. it's more and more how i want to live. i've been thinking about lately how easy it is to want to complicate things. for example, my husband is an exceptional cook. he just has a gift for throwing random flavors together and turning them into magic. we're not that big on entertaining, but when we do, we make a pretty big deal out of it. we usually plan a three or four course meal, shop for special ingredients, figure out the best wine or cocktails to perfectly compliment the meal, and this, while well meaning, can really take the fun out of entertaining. it made us less apt to invite friends over, especially not on a whim. one weekend, i decided that i wanted to invite over some friends, and my husband panicked a little because we didn't have a plan. what special meal could we make with such short notice?? we don't have time to go the four different stores we would need to find all our ingredients. we won't have time to make the creme brulee! i told him not to worry about a thing, i would take care of it. i was able to make one grocery trip, make a simple pasta dish with an easy caprese appetizer, and a simple panna cotta. it was no where near the amount of work that we usually spend preparing for a meal, and i thought it was just as delicious. plus, it allowed us to really enjoy our friends company. we did this with out all the stress, and still had a lovely meal. this made me think of other aspects of our life where we could make life so much simpler. i think we get so wrapped up in keeping up with the jones so to say, that we don't take the time to breath. we don't think about the things that are most important. love. family. each others happiness. enjoying others company without all the fuss. and that, i think, is what makes life so nice.