OOO #55: Outfits, Ohio, and Other Things I Like
A splash of color that didn't land, an Italian emporium, and my journal
Outfits
Ohio
A few weeks ago, my husband and I had the absolute joy of going to a cookie-making demonstration at Quinci Emporium. Quinci Emporium has a mix of high-quality Italian food imports, beautiful tableware, and cookbooks, in addition to offering cooking lessons and demonstrations.
Our cookie demonstration was focused on Italian holiday cookies: Sicilian almond cookies (my favorites), brown butter shortbread (divine), and fig cookies, plus seed crackers. I learned a lot about baking in our 3 hours at Quinci, and I’m really excited to test out some of the recipes myself. Brown butter is honestly one of my favorite flavors on the planet (butternut squash ravioli in a brown butter sage sauce is easily in a top five favorite meal), so I think I’ll try those out first. While the cookies baked, the owner served us a homemade tomato+ soup (it had carrots and red peppers and fennel too) with a dollop of some sort of delicious chive yogurt mix plus my new favorite thing: pumpernickel toast with olive oil and fleur de sel. There was also plenty of free wine.
I had a great experience at Quinci, and I can totally see myself going back. Next time, I’d like to try one of their hands-on cooking classes, and I’m patiently waiting for the next round of classes to be posted (particularly if there are any vegetarian friendly meals). And, the next time I want really high quality olive oil or pasta (or water goblets, which are a weakness of mine), I know where to go!
Other Things I Like
One habit that I’ve cultivated that I keep (mostly) on top of is writing in a daily journal. The only reason I’ve ever been able to attempt this is because of this journal.
The At-a-Glance Daily Diary has been a mainstay in my life (and on my nightstand) since 2017, largely because of its layout. Each day has a designated page, and so I feel a very slight pressure to actually write in it everyday. Otherwise the page is blank and the day is feels kind of lost. Additionally, having one finite page means that I don’t feel the need to go on at length. Sometimes I write a sentence and that’s enough.
My new approach to journaling is to try to write one small but good detail from my day (plus whatever else I want to write about). It could be something funny someone said, or something joy-inducing I saw (or ate). Things that seem sharp and easy to recall from today lose their edges the next, and I figure, this will help me remember more of my life in the years to come (side note - we unearthed my great-great-grandmother’s journal during Christmas and she wrote something so similar it unnerved me. It’s a reminder that people have always been people). I know that photographs serve the same function, but the challenge—and therefore reward—of documenting experiences and feelings with words feels way more formative to me.
If you’ve always wanted to keep a journal, I’d recommend the At-a-Glance Daily Diary.
That’s it! Have a great rest of your week—and year! 🎉