on forty, and a perfect dinner

FORTY. I didn’t freak out in the way I did when I turned thirty. I feel so good and confident in my skin that I know forty can’t be all that bad.

I threw myself a fabulous birthday party (more on that later), and I did some thinking. Thinking about what I want from this next decade. Now that I’m out of my thirties, I am glad to leave all that hard work of having babies and very young children behind me. I feel more confident about myself, what I want and where I want to be.

One of the small goals I made for myself was to simply savor life more. To put more enjoyment in the simple things. To perfect the fine art of Living. To find joy in the simple things.

I’m trying to look at summer with a new sense of enjoyment. It is my least favorite season and ironically the longest down here in the South. Believe me, the irony of this is not lost on me. I tend to get pretty bad cabin fever because I can’t bear the intense heat and humidity along with the insects that come along with it.

With things being so topsy-turvy in my life for the past year, things have been decidedly not joyful. But I don’t know if it’s the beginning of a new decade, saying good-bye to a very difficult year, or just simply the passage of time, I’m feeling at least more optimistic about the future. Why shouldn’t I be? My life is awesome.

The first place I decided to start with my new inspiration is in eating. I’ve got to do it so much that it may as well become enjoyable again. There’s a little more space in my life to allow me to get in the kitchen and cook something beautiful and delicious simply because I want to.

Since The Daddy Monkey and I haven’t been out alone in almost a year, I decided its time to start date night dinners again. Years ago,  I used to cook up a fancy dinner for The Daddy Monkey and I to enjoy after the kids went to bed.  But it sort of fell apart a few years ago, and I’ve been missing it. So I decided to start it back up again, and last night we had the most amazing meal. I’ve been playing around with the concept of serving meals in courses, and it’s been fun to think of meals in a new way.

l’entree:

roasted artichokes with lemon, garlic and grass-fed Irish butter

le plat principal:

rack of lamb with dijon mustard and herbed breadcrumbs

parmesan garlic mashed potatoes

salade:

locally grown red bibb and romaine salad with apple cider vinaigrette

le fromage et le dessert:

goat’s yogurt cheese drizzled with dark chocolate sauce and fresh organic strawberries

vin:

Blason de Bourgogne 2010 Pinot Noir Bourgogne

It was perfection! What a glorious way to spend a Saturday night with the person you love!