5 Stand Out Senses (5 SOS_005)
I spent this past weekend in New York City, where I called home for years. It is a place whose energy and faceted personality resonates with my own. The pace of the streets matches my cadence. The morphing styles from Chinatown to Red Hook to the West Village to Williamsburg satiate my adaptable, flowing Piscean nature.
It's that compatibility -along with the phenomenal humans with whom I've formed soul-enriching friendships- that entices me back.
So, in reflection of that trip I'm dedicating this week's 5 Stand Out Senses to "The City."
1. Sight
Photo by @jacobsantiago (who I had the pleasure of joining on a frigid Instagram walk four years ago) of the Manhattan skyline immortalized on @helgaberta.
The skyline. Nothing else fills me with quite the sense of electricity and anticipation like my first glimpse of the Manhattan skyline from up in the air or riding on I-95. No matter the direction of approach, it rises in subtle greeting through a gray haze - diminishing its astonishing architecture into tiny undulating geometries.
2. Sound
"Farm Song" by East Forest
On a long drive to a place I'm looking forward to, I like to read intermittently amidst stretches of daydreaming out the window, watching autumn trees of diminished foliage roll by.
Especially when the destination is frenetic, I listen to beautiful, ambient tunes to ground my thoughts with albums such as this:
"Music To Be Born To" by East Forest
3. Scent
What is somewhat hard to find upon first moving to NYC are those places you feel comfortable enough to call a second home and desire to add to your weekly routine.
Sullivan Street Tea & Spice Company became such a place for me. Granted, I go through crazy amounts/numerous varieties of tea and prioritize fresh spices more than most, but I'll assure that this shop is worth a visit through its old glass door in Greenwich Village.
If you're overwhelmed by the vast selection of bulk teas and spices -displayed in large glass canisters like an historic apothecary- no need to fret. The people who work there are whip smart, enthusiastically helpful, and pour complimentary tea. But namely, the combination of aromas mixing in the air is somehow indistinguishable but altogether intoxicating.
4. Taste
Photos Left to Right: Winter Squash (Alex Lau for Bon Appetit), Zucchini Noodles (The Taste Space), Cocktail (Daniel Krieger); Edit by me
Let's be honest - my friends and I are pretty fun and we like bourbon. There was, indeed, a bourbon party on Saturday night of the "Show & Tell & Share" variety that equated into me and my soulgirl Brooke -my hostess with the mostest for the weekend- staying up until 4am. Sample a few of the offerings? Of course we did. And they were lovely. But...
The best thing I had all weekend was the homemade dinner that Brookie and I cooked beforehand in the Williamsburg apartment she'd just freshly moved into. In my humble opinion, it was an adorable scene:
Two young thangs, dancing and chopping and spiralizing and sautéing a vegan, gluten-free, and seasonally delicious dish of goodness (strategically healthy to compliment, er counteract the Basil Haydens to come). A picnic dinner was set on the living room floor, where we twirled our forks and "mmm mmm"'d and laugh-cried under the glow of Youtube.
Butternut Squash & Sage with Zucchini Noodles
We adapted the above recipe by omitting the spaghetti (we went full zoodle). I'm going to adapt it again for Thanksgiving by doing only the zucchini noodles (but in RIBBONS this time), and incorporating diced, roasted Blue Hubbard and Kabocha squashes folded into the puree AND topping the whole glorious mess with toasted pumpkin seeks (Magnesium! Omega-3's! Zinc!).
5. Touch
The warmth of a fire, wherever I can find it.
