It’s been quite some time since I last wrote. A lot has happened since. I celebrated my best friend’s 30th birthday in St. Augustine, Florida: we collected SO many beautiful shells and soaked in some great early beach weather; ate delicious food; and admired the Spanish architecture throughout the city. Returned to Boston – which thankfully has been strong and incredibly resilient – and made the scary decision to leave my job. For the past two and a half years, I’ve been the Fisheries Outreach Specialist for NOAA Office of Law Enforcement in the Northeast. It’s been an incredible experience, giving me the opportunity to learn a bit of the ins and outs of fisheries management and issues the industry faces, and I’ve met some wonderful people along the way. It was very eye opening to come into a position, basically straight out of college, and create a new communications program. But, the time came for a new start and a new direction…reinvigoration. Positive thinking and manifestation.

Now, I will be working with a couple of great restaurants in Gloucester: Short & Main, a wonderful little wood-fired pizza and raw bar in the heart of downtown, and under the same ownership, The Market Restaurant, a beautiful, cozy spot right on the river with a daily-changing menu. Both restaurants are committed to serving simple, delicious food sourced locally; creating a warm, elevated experience for their guests; and hey, composting! I’ll also be cooking with Chive: Sustainable Event Design & Catering, the company I’ve raved about for the past two years for their tireless quest to source and design every last detail with sustainability and beauty in mind. I’m moving into an amazing house with a friend, and have been going-going-going since I got back from vacation, adjusting to all these wonderful, SO very exciting changes. A new chapter! I can’t wait to see what it brings.

With all this running around, I haven’t had much time to cook. But I was determined to cook something simple tonight with what I had in the kitchen already. I had picked up some Carolina gold rice when I was down in Charleston, and cooked that up with some sautéed fiddleheads, anchovies, and red Russian kale cooked in a cream sauce with fresh green garlic. Added a soft-boiled egg, drizzle of olive oil, champagne vinegar, Maldon sea salt and pepper, and called it a day. Pretty satisfying comfort food. The nergoni didn’t hurt either.

Leaving St. Augustine, we had to (or I had to) stop in this super cute macaron shop. I’m not even a huge macaron girl myself, but this place was just too cute and everything was so tasty.

After St. Augustine, I spent one more day in Charleston. Made my way over to Heirloom Book Company — a bookstore that specializes in cookbooks, both new and vintage. Hello.

I still can’t believe all the changes happening in my life right now, but it’s making me incredibly happy. I’ve worked hard, am happy with where I’ve been, and can’t wait to see where this journey takes me. Right now, this moment is pretty good. And that’s all that matters.

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