Our book club pick for this round was artist Beatrice Wood’s autobiography, “I Shock Myself.” Francisca dished up a delicious bohemian spread of lentils, quinoa, beets, salad, pita bread, hummus and all sorts of other goodies. Christina picked tangerines from the tree.

As an homage to the creative process, Francisca asked us each to bring pieces we’ve been working on. Christina, Francisca and I shared some knitting, Kristen brought photos and of course Lily brought her latest creation…

… Jacob whom we all met for the first time.

We are on our seventh year of our book club. And even though we hardly talk about the books, we know it’s more about just spending time together laughing, eating, enjoying each other’s company and…

just being silly together (Francisca and I sporting our “Blue Steel” Zoolander poses).

Ahhhh, another perfect book club afternoon!

Just returned home from a late night at book club. Another gathering filled with fun, laughter and good food. Our book this time was The Friday Night Knitting Club so as an homage to the book, we met on Friday night, Christina cooked a meal of delicious vegetable lasagna (per a scene in the book) and we knitted together. Christina and I taught the other three gals how to cast on, knit and purl. I loved getting to share this pastime with my friends and getting them hooked on the relaxing quality of knitting.

Since I don’t have any photos of art to post today, my art is a quick haiku in honor of our dear book club…

The book club ladies
Lemon surprise pudding high
Scarlet letter shirt

We knit 2gether
We eat, pray, love 2gether
We laugh 2gether

[tags]National Blog Posting Month, NaBloPoMo, Art Every Day Month, knitting[/tags]

Friends. Food. Fun. What could be better on a gorgeous, warm and sunny San Francisco afternoon? The book club ladies (sans Francisca) gathered at Kristen’s house in the Sunset to revel in Elizabeth Gilbert’s fantastic memoir “Eat, Pray, Love.” While discussing the author’s personal pilgrimage through Italy, India and Indonesia to find her true self, we feasted on antipasti including caprese salad, grilled asparagus and scrumptious figs with blue cheese. We shared how we related to her journey as we devoured to-die-for orecchiette pasta with chicken sausage and red chili flakes smothered in a tangy cream sauce. We pondered how the she might be integrating all her learnings into her day-to-day life post-travels as we gobbled up chocolate, vanilla and hazelnut gelato dripping with gooey chocolate ganache. Obviously, we had no problem taking a cue from the Italy indulgence theme from part one of the book.

Since the book club ladies weren’t able to attend my Freedom Party a couple of weeks ago, they gave me a heartfelt present. It brought tears to my eyes (there’s always some laughing and crying at book club!). Each gal picked out a special stone carved with an inspirational word like “Dream” or “Courage.” The fifth rock simply read “Friends” symbolizing the enduring strength of our friendship. Whenever I’m reading in my hammock in the backyard, these precious pebbles will be there to remind me that these four wonderful women will always be there for support and love.

As we wrapped up the day and I got into my car, the clear view of the ocean beckoned. Instead of heading straight home, I spontaneously drove out to the beach - one of my favorite spots when I used to live in the city. Just like in the book, I felt pulled to have some time just for me. I cast off my flip flops and waded in the cool, salty surf. I just love how the sound of crashing waves is so meditative. Even in this calm, peaceful place I noticed, though, that my mind still wandered. And since instead of berating myself for mind chatter I’m practicing holding myself with compassion, I just went with it. Riding the wave. I recalled how about seven or eight years ago I performed a letting go ritual on this same stretch of sand. I had written down things that were frustrating about my job, my life, etc. and then tossed them into the sea.

In that moment of reflection, I really related to a quote from the book, “I think about the woman I have become lately, about the life that I am now living, and how much I always wanted to be this person and live this life, liberated from the farce of pretending to be anyone other than myself.” My heart swelled with gratitude. This book has opened my eyes even more to my own personal journey and to deepening my own spiritual path. And by following an urge to do something nice just for me on this sunny afternoon, I gave myself the gifts of enjoying the present moment and of honoring who I am now and who I am becoming.

[tags]book club, Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love[/tags]

It’s hard to believe that my book club back from my Gap days is still going strong after nearly six years! We five friends always enjoy delicious food, side-splitting laughs (especially around dessert time) and fun conversation (we try to get some discussion about the reading, but mostly just gab)! I’ve really enjoyed watching our lives grow and change - new homes, kids, jobs, etc. - and knowing that I can always count on my “book club ladies” for love and support.

My inner Martha delights in creating themes for my book club meals. For my turn this year I paid homage to my recent yoga teacher training and also when my friends and I used to take the lunch-time yoga class at work. We enjoyed a light, quick summer read called “Yoga Mamas.”

To start off our day together, I led the gals in a brief yet grounding yoga class. Then we feasted outside on a raw food extravaganza. (I slaved away in the kitchen for nearly 8 hours the day before chopping, cutting, and assembling all sorts of veggies and nuts.) After all that work, though, the dishes turned out to be amazing! I made a few from Cafe Gratitude’s recipe book “I am Grateful” including my favorite dessert “I am Devoted,” a heavenly coconut cream pie without any refined sugar, flour or dairy. And a too-die-for “lasagna” from “Living Cuisine” with an incredible macadamia nut ricotta filling and zucchini noodles.

All in all, the book club ladies had a wonderful time soaking up the sun and relishing in the nourishment of friendship and food. Couldn’t have asked for a better day!

[tags]book club, Yoga Mamas, yoga, raw food, living cuisine, Cafe Gratitude[/tags]