A night to remember

♥ January 2013
“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.”
~Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy again! Happy oysters, how appropriate! In manifesting a sparkly joyful day, the phrase "happy again" is a mantra I aim to whisper every hour the whole year through! I am both a dreamer and a realist ( the latter to a certain degree, heh!) knowing that itzy bitsy challenge are prone to pop up every once in a while; not to fret and not to fear for I have a stock of good perky memories and a particular penchant for the giggles to slide me through the ( just a few, I dare declare ) rough edges of life. Oh, here's a particularly Zen quote that definitely speaks of those times:

The Buddha confirmed that it is possible to live happily in the here and the now — even if you still have lots of pain and sorrow within yourself. Mindful breathing helps you become fully alive. And when you are really there, you can touch all the wonders of life that are available in this very moment for your enjoyment…for your nourishment…and for your healing. ~ TNH

Oysters make for divine happy memories, and yes, I'm an oyster lovin' gal' (true and true!) and can  slick up a bushel full if dared! In between Christmas and NYE, the Honey Doo' and I had a plate of some fancy baked beauties that cost as much as a basket load had it come from a plain wet market and steamed cooked at home. BUT, it's truly fun to soak in those once in a while refinements of glittery "ambiance" that a mighty fine tootsie place with all the right lights can deliver; so we enthusiastically plumped ourselves a seat, ordered quite decisively, excitedly divided the lot, left the fresh green decor untouched (haha!) and enjoyed the platter! We also had a tempting tasty full round of pepperoni pizza, a delicately melty' eggplant parmigiana washed sweetly by a fresh brewed slush tea and a margarita (later on) on the side. 

The glaze torched Crème brûlée with a cup of (true blue) Italian coffee lent a smooth refined ending to what was an exquisite evening of pleasurable tit for tat'...-- 2012 was such a serious hard working year, we rarely found the energy to just go out and relax, preferring so much more the familiar soothing corners of home. -- It felt good that night to mindfully be settled among a festive holiday crowd of diners whilst ( luv' the word) a succession of  soft croony'  classic Christmas songs gently wafted through the setting. We had a chance to look back that night and voice out a few realizations discovered between us. It surprised me to realize that preferences and tastes have so evolved, but still we do share the same "likes"  than ever before! We were actually searching for a jazzy place when we started the night, but as fate would have it, our footsteps were guided towards a beautiful corner where soft music was playing and everything was a twinkle relaxing, Right there we decided that such places are definitely us. I liked that. I like it when  something jives so deeply with not just me or him but both of us as one single entity. Joy! 

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter

and your lips with shouts of joy.
~ Job 8:21