Relish Food

Growing up in Minnesota I didn’t know much outside my meat & potato diet.  I never really considered myself a picky eater.  I just stuck with what I knew I liked and I definitely had an opinion about what I “thought” I didn’t like.  This was never a problem, until I moved to Chicago, which is known for their diversity of ethic foods.  Staring at menus compiled of foods that were foreign to me was intimidating.  I tried to pick the simplest dishes with ingredients that I understood.  If all else failed I could usually fall back on a house salad.  I was a burger & french fries girl through and through.  But I wasn’t “living” and taking advantage of what all Chicago had to offer.  A dear friend of mine, and foodie extraordinaire, introduced me to one of her favorite Thai restaurants.  Unknown foods terrified me.  I had no idea what was “safe” to eat. But with a little encouragement from my friend I thought, “What the hell am I so afraid of, it’s food for goodness sake!”  Little by little I ventured out of my comfort zone and a whole new world of food possibilities opened up.  I feel in love.  The flavors, the colors, the presentation...  Now, I want to try everything!  Well, that’s not the complete truth.  I’m still hesitant with sushi.  Until then… Bon Appétit!

Relish Style

My favorite part of the day is getting dressed.  Each day I reinvent myself through my clothing.  Who do I want to be today, I ask myself?  I’m infatuated with developing my personal style, it’s forever changing.  As I’ve gotten older, more confident, and accepting of my body I finally stopped letting the clothes wear me  No longer am I going to mold my body to fit specific clothing.  I will mold the clothing to fit me.  It’s unbelievably freeing!  I continue to experiment and overcome styling challenges.  (I’m soooo short, have a curvy figure, and less then ideal clothing budget.)  But when I assemble the perfect outfit creation, I feel unstoppable.  My style is an extension of my personality.  I’m growing outside the box and take pride in incorporating my own unique personal flare.  No longer concerned about following trends and fashion rules, but instead letting my creativity and emotions drive my styling choices.  Happy styling!

Allow me to introduce myself...

I find that the majority of my waking hours are spent doing things that I dislike.  Five days a week I cram myself in an over capacitated El car, schlep downtown, sit in a cubicle and stare at a computer screen from 8:30am – 5pm.  Yuck.  Needles to say, my artistic side is screaming to be let loose!  That’s where this blog comes in.  Here I’ll explore the things that inspire me the most. And hopefully some day I will no longer be chained to a desk, but instead voyaging the world on wondrous adventures.  Relish with me won’t you!?