Recently, old pictures of friends in New York have been like a treat in postcard form.

At that time my friend had just gotten back from Shanghai and she brought back so many surprises! It was also the first sleepover I’d had in what felt like ages.

A "Milk Collection"--yummy!

Since I’ve been back in Florida I’ve been contemplating many things, and a few of those things are the idea of aspirations, one-way track living, and what matters. Some have aspirations to start a family, or meet that someone special. Some want to see policies change, and some are career driven. There are some who just want to be a better person, or as I like to say… a more realized self. Because my idea of “better” may be different from yours, so where’s the good and bad in that? No where.

Anyway, I’m at a point in my life where most of my friends are getting engaged, married, starting their careers, or even going back to school. Then there are those that are pursuing more unconventional aspirations by going to artist residencies, going on long journeys in different hemispheres, or being entrepreneurs and starting from scratch. But that’s what other people are doing. What am I doing? It’s not until I tell people about my life and someone gets confused about the timeline and events, that I realize that my life and family may seem unconventional. But we never think about it like that because in reality we’re not. Just in a person’s perception. Life does not exist in boxes, nor in a telescope. It’s funny how we are existing on one planet and everything from the atmosphere to the reason why your hair is falling out are related to something, which are related to something else. Then there’s the greater universe, and somehow that thought makes me think of how insignificant some things really are. Those things that disappear from our minds, and who knows… maybe they exist in a way that stars are a vision of the past. But why do things matter? Aside from survival being an instinct, I think things matter because it helps us feel like we live for something. A reason. Somethings matter so much that we’d die for it. I once asked myself that I know that I would die for someone, but would I walk 5,000 miles for them? I’d probably walk 5,000 miles just to walk. You know when you don’t have a reason for doing something, but there’s something inexplicable within you that is compelled? The kinds of things that have no answer when someone asks you, “why?” That’s been most of my guiding inspiration throughout life, and maybe it can be hard to understand. So that’s what I’m doing.

But here’s something a little less wordy, and easy on the eyes.

My dad definitely knows I like to try new things, and he does too.

I hadn't heard of wild red rice until that point.

I love the idea of wild rice invading rice fields.

Yes, there's a little patty hiding under the slices of coastal cheddar.

Sometimes I look through recipes based on what I already have. Most of the time I don’t want to have to go out and buy an ingredient (unless it’s a fruit or vegetable… then I don’t care). I wanted a recipe that would get me to use hemp seeds in a new way, so when I found this one for Hemp Burgers–I marked it. I didn’t realize the recipe called for herb seasoned stuffing until I was ready to make it. These were my options a) buy seasoned stuffing–which I would rarely use b) make stuffing from the loaf of bread I didn’t have or c) improvise and use rice! The only reason the stuffing was in the recipe in the first place was to act as binder, so I figured if I just ran the rice through the food processor it would work. And it did!

Don't be shy little burger.

I wanted to make the loaf version of 'Cinnamon Fantails' for a dinner party I hosted awhile ago...

Alas, I wasn’t able to because I was running late with everything that day, but I decided to make it the next day. “I’m sorry, you arrived late and the guests are all gone!” This turned out to look like an edible version of the Grand Canyon. I realized later on why. I was suppose to bake it exposing the layers right side up, but who cares?

So what’s this you heard about a dinner party the night prior?

The day of the gathering some of my friends ended up having to meet me whilst a “to-do”, so I had to quickly whip up a butternut squash, spinach and coconut curry with chickpeas. When I invite someone over pre-made food is not an option. But before I started any cooking I had to calm down and eat something (starved and anxious souls don’t do well when cooking). Definitely didn’t want my negative energy to go into the food I was about to make.

The dinner party also became known as our "last meal".

“What would you eat at your last meal?” That was a question that was asked to each of us at some point of the night. I loved hearing everyone’s answers. One person just wanted papaya and some wanted a feast till ’cause of death’ would be ‘explosion at maximum capacity’.

That night we all wanted a feast.

There were plates and pots of delicious food! My wonderful friends brought rye toasts with cream cheese, some with a fig-caramel spread, and some with both. A never-ending plate grapes and cheese, a beautifully sanguine blood orange and olive tapenade, pad Thai, dumplings, and a most delicious Moroccan chickpea stew served with cous cous.

Wine and plastic... so no one has to freak out when something spills.

Those go well with friends that are close to my heart.

Eventually we got to dessert, which was not for the faint of heart.

A ‘Lemon Mist Coconut Cake’.

A very photogenic and yummy cake it was.

Why thank you, if you insist!

And of course, the last meal isn't over till someone's stomach explodes.

On another note, I wanted to share a few interesting recent reads and finds:

44 Healthy Foods Under $1: A lot of people say “healthy foods” are expensive… that’s actually a topic dear to my heart, and a quibble I have towards the organic industry.

Frasier on Netflix: I don’t make time to watch TV, but since remembering I had Netflix I was looking for things to watch and found this. I can make time to laugh with Frasier and the cast every once in awhile!

The Blonde Salad: This fashion blog has been around for awhile, but I just stumbled upon it for the first time the other day!

Macadamia Nut Decline–Australia, Hawaii--?: Trying to find macadamia nuts in the bulk section of my local grocers’ is null, and it had me curious. No one at the stores could answer me so I tried to look it up myself. Granted these articles are from last year. Any of you guys know?

Do you think time seems to be going faster for some because there are more things to do? Someone told me there are some cultures that actually perceive time to be going by slower. What do you think?