Hello lovely readers, and Happy New Year! The start of any new year can be a bit of a mixed bag, what with post-holiday letdown and resuming back-to-school/work/life routines. But my favorite part is getting to choose a new word for the year. Rather than trying to pin down a resolution, I love that selecting a word can offer a guiding light to help steer our inner compass. Read on to discover my word of 2024, and drop me a line or leave a comment if you’re open to sharing your word!
FLOURISH: to grow luxuriantly. To achieve success. To be in a state of activity or production. To reach a height of development or influence. To make bold and sweeping gestures. (Source: Merriam-Webster)
I was walking with my daughter Ava on the beach, the cool spray of the ocean brushing my ankles and clean salt air filling my lungs, when a word popped into my head: flourish. That brisk October morning, I knew that this would be my word for 2024.
I’ve always done some of my best thinking at the beach, probably because I’m on my vacation, when work has been stripped away and I’ve pared back from looking at my phone. The conditions are optimal for releasing me from the tethers that usually anchor me to my day and creating a sense of infinity and spaciousness. There is an energy to the ocean that is at once calming and charged, like the currents of electricity pulsing just beneath its surface. I watched Ava running into the waves and darting away from them, the only constant the ebbs and flow of the tide amid the blur of her flitting, twirling, skipping, and scampering. She paused periodically to gather handfuls of sea foam and throw them into the air. A foam confetti party, we called it.
Sometimes we paused together, stooping to examine sea shells, pocketing the “keepers”—smooth sea glass, ruffles, so named for their resemblance to ridged potato chips, swirly snail shell-esque ones, coveted cone-shaped ones. We inspected the jellyfish that washed ashore, plump orbs once throbbing with life. We ogled the skeletons too, admiring the delicate, jagged edges of a crab claw, or the empty carapace of a crustacean. Everything felt so vibrant, alive, even the things that weren’t. Ava and I watched the sun rise, letting our eyes travel along with its ascension before turning to walk back to the house, the glow of the early morning sun lighting our path forward.
Since that day, I’ve allowed the word ‘flourish’ to marinate in my mind, thinking and anticipating how it would carry me into and through 2024. In calling up this cherished memory, I think of how flourish means creating an optimal environment to support one’s dreams and well-being. For me, it will require thoughtful consideration to determine when it is a time for conserving energy and prioritizing rest, or seasons when I need to take advantage of heightened productivity and energy bursts. Intention is called for to discover if it is a time for quiet reflection or if the moment calls for bold actions and grand gestures.
Thinking about how we flourish invites us to redefine what success looks, feels, and tastes like. How does your success align with your values, your purpose, and how you want to spend your time? What are the conditions that will help you grow and reach new heights of development, both personally and professionally? What does it mean to you to grow luxuriantly? To me, luxuriant growth means abundance, sometimes extravagance. It means a sense of lushness, of fullness. It may at times ask me to be more self-full (not selfish). At other times, it may mean giving more of myself than I was prepared to give. That is the constant ebb and flow of life. But like the ocean, I will embrace my vastness, my multitudes, my potential. I will harness the conditions that allow myself and those in my orbit to thrive.
This year, I will flourish because I will continue to bloom. Part of the etymology of the word ‘flourish’ comes from old French, floriss-, stem of florir, “to blossom, flower, bloom; prosper, flourish.” (Source: Online Etymology Dictionary) I will continue to turn towards the light and let it in. I will find new ways to nourish myself and fill my cup, so that I may share my inner light, too. What do you need to nurture your roots, tend to your foundation, and create ample room for unfurling? It is my wish that each of you find ways to flourish this year, be it through luxuriant growth, achieving success on your terms, reaching new heights, or making bold gestures.
Memoir Updates
New year, new goals! This month, I’ve committed to working on my memoir 10 hours per week. This can include revision (starting with a new outline), craft workshops or books, writing group, or pitching personal essays. I’m reminding myself that I don’t need to add pressure to sell or publish my book by a certain date, just take the steps that feel right and suit where I am. In order for these 10 hours to happen each week, I put them on my calendar and prioritize them before other deadlines and appointments (when possible), guard that time fiercely, and re-calendar if the work doesn’t happen when I thought it would. I kicked off the year with a Craft Talks workshop on using poetic craft to write unforgettable, fierce prose. It was just the thing to ease into the new year and delve deeper into my love of language and gently challenge myself to pay closer attention to word choice, rhythm, sound, and pacing.
Part of nourishing my writing practice also comes with nourishment in the form of sustenance. Making a second breakfast is an act of self-care, encouraging me to step away from my desk and honor what I’m hungry for. Jammy eggs are a go-to!
Published Articles & Media Appearances
17 Places You’ll Want to Go in 2024, According to Travel Journalists and Creatives
My dear friend, freelance journalist, and work wife Jenn Rice interviewed me for her excellent Substack newsletter, Bitchen, which I highly recommend subscribing to for vicarious travel, juicy tidbits, and lust-inducing meals. My pick for where I’d like to (re)visit this year is one that’s close to home and dear to my heart. I always feel a sense of well-being in this place, and I hope you’ll read to find out where it is. The answer may surprise you!
A Mélange of Culinary Delights
My dining review for the January-February issue of The Roanoker Magazine features Brood, a new restaurant that is helping to define an American bistro sensibility in Salem, Virginia. It’s helmed by chef Ted Polfelt, who is part of the team that will represent the U.S. in the Culinary Olympics next month (yes, that’s a thing!). Brood’s cocktails are strong, the service is warm, the vibes are cool yet cozy, so needless to say I’m looking forward to returning and trying more dishes.
I also wrote about Roanoke’s burgeoning pop-up scene for The Roanoker Magazine. Pop-ups aren’t new, but they remain a great entry point for culinary entrepreneurs to test out fresh concepts that contribute to the vibrancy of any city’s culinary community. These Roanoke pop-ups also makes for delicious dining adventures for locals, whether you’re sampling Elote Alebrije’s spins on elote (one riff rolls the Mexican-style street corn in crushed Flaming Hot Cheetos and hot sauce!) or pairing one of Hot Knot’s Bavarian pretzels with a local craft beer.
Books, Bites & Beverages
Books: Hot Springs Drive is my current obsession. It’s gritty, sexy, electric, and raw. I wasn’t sure what I was in for when I read a blurb calling it a “suburban noir,” but I know that it’s a delicious read and unlike anything I’ve read in recent years. Once I finish reading, I can’t wait to unpack some of author Lindsay Hunter’s craft choices as they pertain to structure, pacing, and reveals.
Bites: One of the things that makes for a memorable restaurant meal is the element of surprise. A tasting menu doubles down on the potential for delightful surprises, and the decision making is left in the hands of the chefs. When said chefs are the team behind the counter at bloom, in Roanoke, Virginia, you’re in very good hands indeed. I also love that tasting menus can push you out of your comfort zone a little, which is always a good thing in my book. My husband and I went out for our last restaurant meal of 2023 to sample the five-course tasting menu at bloom’s chef’s counter, and we both agreed that the riff on a Caesar salad was our favorite.
A whole mini lettuce was lightly kissed on the grill, then piped and drizzled with creamy dressing, and the leaves were layered with thin slices of fresh Asian pear. So when you cut into the lettuce or peeked under the ruffles, it was like discovering hidden treasure. The scattering of breadcrumbs, nubs of Nueske's bacon, and shavings of Parmesan brought crispy, chewy, and extra savory notes to balance the lettuce’s softness and earthy, mineral tang, as well as to offset the sweetness of the pear.
Beverages: Since we dined post-Christmas, pre-New Year’s, bloom’s cocktail menu featured a Reindeer Games theme, with each of the nine cocktails named after a different reindeer. The Dancer featured Ilegal mezcal and Lunazul reposado tequila, its smokiness tempered by raisiny-sweet PX Sherry and balanced with agave and lime. It made for a delightful pre-dinner sipper that carried me through the first course, an amuse-bouche featuring cornmeal hushpuppy atop heirloom grits anointed with harissa and capped with a jaunty celery leaf.
Love this a lot. Happy new year 🎊
Brava, a foam confetti party 💕💕💕