When January 1st arrives, and sweeps cooling winds throughout the way, there’s a shift that is uniquely shared outside of any other time. The air smells crisp like stark citrus, cleansing and refreshing. There’s a special pocket of time where invigoration condenses like clouds across the sky, new with each sunrise. This is the time of year where anything is possible, and doubt has been chased away by swirling flakes.

The start of the year is dear to my heart, but only because fresh starts in general are. Finding peace in clean slates creates a similar feeling as opening a new journal. Primed for endless creativity, and ready to humbly accept the best version of these rampant thoughts and ideas.

This past year was overflowing with delightfully hard work; between the day job, personal endeavors, In Whites, and quiet, hopeful planning for the future, there was little time to r e s t. As the book began to close, this protagonist was incredibly proud, as well as exhausted. Among all of that bright, sparking, explosive creativity, there was also an omnipresent cloud of self-critiquing. Fraught with a constant voice yelling to do more, try harder, take on more, say yes more, there was another one saying to be harder, toughen up, grow a callous, deal with shit. Next to that voice, was the mental checklist waving in the winds of those demanding breaths, with unmarked boxes of previously determined goals.

I’m not one for resolutions – they give the impression that there was a problem requiring a harsh fixing. A total tear down and rebuilding. After 24 years, I would rather accept the foundation and tools that I have, and make better. In that vein, intentions feel a bit..more comfortable. A little softer around the edges, like me.

I would not describe myself as “tough”. The complete opposite, I’m like an over-ripe peach. Fuzzy, soft, and prone to going bad if not caught at *just* the right moment. For the longest time, I longed to grow into something harder. Refined and polished into a razor sharp point, I wanted to be someone that could handle the harshest of criticism, could let any small issue bounce off…a coconut? I wanted to be a coconut. Rough, hard, pretty indestructible from the outside.

Alas, I am still just a small peach. Sounds cute, probably smells good, but soft and mushy.

While there are still aspects of this personality that I would like to gently mold into something stronger and more durable, I’ve reached a point of embrace. Instead of ignoring the obvious, willing something into existence that just will not be, I want to fully learn and enjoy those soft, squishy, over-sentimental parts of myself.

Since food has never been just a source of income for me, any fluctuation in life and mental/emotional fortitude has an effect on the product I create. Dulcet Daydreams is meant to be a much more open and honest reflection of that. (Yes, I choose the most obnoxious names I can – they’re my dinners, I can do what I want.)

Honeyed…doesn’t that sound nice? Floral and delicate, perfumed, unctuously slow and in the moment.  That is a tone worth striving for.

While it doesn’t pay off to dwell in such fantasies, part of me truly believes that it is healthy to indulge a slight drifting towards a plane of wishful, higher thinking. It helps broaden the mind towards what could be. When those daydreams are wandering their way towards a brighter, healthier, more balanced existence, I stand by it even more.

I suppose a large part of this dinners theme finds itself settled among the self-care/self-love trend that has taken over. If 2018 was filled with goal-setting, and “hustling” towards a more evolved career space, 2019 is meant to be about balance. Having the desires of an accomplished career meet in the middle with that of a slow, fully enjoyed life outside of work.

Softer, slower, nurturing to body and heart. That’s the theme.

In less vague terms, I want every course of this meal to leave one part sense of wonder, and one part sense of fulfillment. A balance of the practical and whimsical, self-care through the basics of more caring food, and delight of the senses.

By February we will be heading towards the end of winter. It will be time to gently wake up from a deep slumber, encased in blankets of snow and chill. Thawing, awakening, stirring, all helped by the aid of seasonal, local foods doing the same.

Regardless of whether you decide to join us for dinner come February, I truly hope everyone finds what they are searching for this New Year. Remember that even when January ends, and there is no longer that crisp, fresh smell of newness, you can make any day, any moment, your fresh start. If, however, you would like to know more about the dinner, and how to attend, please subscribe to my newsletter here:

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In the next week you will get a menu release, along with information on how to purchase a ticket, and what else to expect with this pop-up.

Until next time,

Colleen // In Whites