As many of you know, I'm in the midst of a bit of a career reboot right now (if you want details, email me!).  A colleague who recently left my firm to start her own consulting business recommended a wonderful book to me called Reboot Your Life: Energize Your Career and Life by Taking a Break. I highly recommend it and frankly, wish I had read it a few years ago. The idea is that taking a sabbatical, whether planned or unplanned, can be a good way to take a look at what you really want in your life. It can be eye-opening.

Last night, I got to see a reboot close up. A former associate at my firm left to start her own catering company, TomCookery, which specializes in Southern and Carribean-inspired comfort food. Talking to Tomika about the process of getting her business up and running and getting to taste her delicious food -- jerk chicken wings, macaroni pie, banana pudding and more -- inspired me so much. I'm so proud of her for following her dreams, and I'm looking forward to doing the same.

 

 

Feeling particularly grateful for the love that surrounds me, whether it's Valentine's Day or not.

I'm out walking Moxie late last night. We approach a tree, where Moxie starts sniffing and a guy walks towards us with his larger dog.

Him: "A rat!"

Me (thinking that he is insulting my tiny dog): "Hey!"

Him: "No, there's a dead rat right there!"

Me: "BWAH HA HA!"

Bubbles. They instantly lift the spirit. Sometimes, however, you want bubbles, but you want something a tad more complex than a glass of champagne. Enter the Seelbach. On New Year's Eve, and on a subsequent visit to Pouring Ribbons in the East Village, I kept asking for champagne-based cocktails. There are many, but I was specific -- no citrus. At one point I received the Seelbach cocktail, a lovely concoction that carries the name of the hotel in Lexington, Kentucky where it was created.

Seelbach Cocktail
1 oz. bourbon
1/2 oz. Cointreau
7 dashes Angostura bitters
7 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Champagne

Stir ingredients over ice, then then strain into a chilled flute and top with champagne. Garnish with a lemon twist.