We want to bring a bit of richness and pleasure to your midweek, every week. Wednesday can be dull. But here, we want Wednesday to be a little dip into sensuality, a little treat for each of your five (make that six) senses.

Today we are thinking about simple celebrations. Life is short and here we are. It’s miraculous! We hope this week’s selection is a bright spot of joy.

Sight

Nothing says Simple Celebration like a flat of berries straight from the local u-pick farm, or a box of cherries gleaned from a neglected tree. The shell-pink flesh of green-skinned figs, the golden centers of blueberries, is there anything better?

Sound

Whether it’s five o’clock and I’m chopping an onion for soup, or it’s a quarter ‘til six and I’m opening the wine to let it breathe. Whether it’s half past the hour and our friends are at the door, or we’re sitting around our tiny table while the lights burn low, I have imaginary playlists running through my head for every part of the evening. Even when it’s just my little family home for the night, I want the perfect sing along, dance along, or just hum along in the background tunes. The way some women dream of the perfect bag is the way I dream of the perfect soundtrack. I needed another one for our theme this week and I was positive that you needed one too. This one sounds like longing and it sounds like home. It sounds like shoes kicked off and watching the sun go down. It sounds like your favorite friends are around your table and the celebration is a slow burn of gratitude. I hope it hits you in the perfect spot.

Scent

Essential oils are a beautiful way to lift and enlighten living and working spaces. Diffusing the oil helps it go into the air effectively and is gentler way to enjoy them than directly on the skin. I like to change up my diffuser blends based on the seasons or my moods. This week I’ve been craving fresh + warm. The scent of trees and citrus, sunshine and shade. Try this:

3 drops cedarwood essential oil

2 drops lemongrass or lemon essential oil

3 drops lime essential oil

Touch

What is a celebration of touch for you? Is it wrapping your hands around a warm mug of tea in the morning or a cool tall glass in the afternoon? Is it trailing your fingers in the water as you lie on the dock or glide slowly in the kayak? Is it holding your loved ones close and feeling their warm skin against yours? Sinking your fingers into clay or paint as you create, feeling the round smooth fruit and the worn wooden handle of the knife as you prepare food for someone you love? Try this in your journal: write a list of 108 ways you love to celebrate the sense of touch. And just for today, be keenly aware of the pleasure of touch as your edges meet the world.

Taste

When I need a simple something to offer last minute company or for a last minute craving this is always the recipe I turn to. You can easily change the fruit to season or availability and I often change the olive oil to coconut. Sometimes I add freshly grated nutmeg or a little cardamom to the topping. I can rarely leave a good recipe alone but this one is close to perfect. Softly whip some cream or coconut cream for the top, if you like, or just eat it straight from the pan, still warm. I can promise that the leftovers make a beautiful breakfast. Bon appetit!

Sixth Sense

Mary Oliver’s poems are like oxygen and fresh bread: simple and necessary. These words are our #simplecelebrations theme in a nutshell. Pour yourself a cuppa and sit with her words for a moment.

The Man Who Has Many Answers

The man who has many answers
is often found
in the theaters of information
where he offers, graciously,
his deep findings.
While the man who has only questions,
to comfort himself, makes music.

~Mary Oliver

May you go back out into your day now, with your senses a little more awake.

Xo

Annagrace