Enchantment Learning & Living Blog

Welcome to Enchantment Learning & Living, the inspirational space where I write about the simple pleasures, radical self-care, and everyday magic that make life delicious.

Bonjour Paris!

May 25, 2014

Today I find myself in Paris--what a magical city! It is such a contrast from Barcelona's riot of colors but has its own beauty nonetheless. I can't wait to try my first real Parisian croissant or to take a long walk by the famous Seine River! Of course, you can't really walk anywhere in this city without seeing the Eiffel Tower. To be honest, it is so exciting--and a little disorienting--to be seeing so many wonderful cities and sights on this whirlwind trip. I mean, I've spent most of my childhood reading books and watching movies about Paris, Barcelona, and London, that it is such a dream to actually be experiencing these cities now. Part of me feels like a character in one of my books than a real person experiencing the world through rose-colored glasses, as Audrey Hepburn would say in Sabrina.

During our stay in Paris, we'll be spending time walking the streets, visiting the Louvre, and searching for that perfect croissant. We'll also be taking a day trip to Versailles, home of the famous French palace once occupied by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. I can't wait to explore the palace and its gardens!

Want to stay caught up on my adventures in Paris and beyond? Follow my Facebook page for updates and pictures!

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!

Spain's Gin Tonic: 5 Steps to Perfection

May 24, 2014

Perfect after a day at the beach it Sitges!

Spain is famous for its love of gin tonic--and no, I didn't forget the "and" in "gin & tonic." The Spanish simply forget the "and" and go straight for the tonic. It seems only fitting that since I am both visiting Spain and love a good G&T that I should learn more about Spain's obsession with the drink--and how to make a perfect one! So here's what I've learned so far:

1. They like their ice cubes big. Bigger ice cubes mean the drink won't melt into tastelessness in the blink of an eye and the drink will stay cooler longer.

2. Choose good gin. This should be a no-brainer. The quality of a drink is dependent on its ingredients. I use to order G&Ts at bars because they are hard to mess up--but now I realize you really can taste the difference between a cheap well gin and a solid one. I recommend the inexpensive New Amsterdam gin for those of you who like a more citrus forward gin reminiscent of vodka. If you are looking to splurge a little, Hendrick's gin offers a wonderful botanical element to your drink.

3. Use quality tonic water. This means avoiding tonic water with fake sugar--another seemingly obvious rule, but one that is often overlooked. Real sugar preserves the taste and frankly, is actually safer for you to drink than artificial sweeteners. A good, but more expensive brand is Fever-tree, which doesn't have any artificial sweeteners or preservatives. For a less expensive option, try Hansen's Natural Tonic, sweetened with natural sugar cane and containing no preservatives.

4. Don't over think the garnishes, according to the Spanish. Lime is always the best option. While they like to add a little flair to the gin tonics with interesting flavors like lavender, they suggest that you shouldn't overload your drink with too many garnishes. It's a drink, not a salad!

5. Keep it simple. Sure there are lots of fun twists on this classic drink, including my Grape-Lime G&T. Just don't get so caught up on the flavor riffs that you lose sight of the basic flavor profile of a good drink: the bright flavor of the lime, the floral kick of the gin, and the bitter tang of the tonic's quinine.

Most of all, take some time to sit in the sun and enjoy your drink!

On Barcelona!

May 23, 2014

Wow! This city is a feast for the senses! It's like living in a glorious open museum, thanks to all the Gaudi architecture filled with whimsical designs and bright colors--my kind of buildings!

So far, our plan has been to take in Gaudi's La Pedrera at night, which is finished off with a champagne toast pre-dinner--which doesn't start up until around 10 pm here (yikes! Way later than this lady is used too; but while it's way past my bedtime, but somehow I don't feel it...maybe it's the champagne). During the day, we will explore the city, from La Familia Sagrada, a famous church built by Gaudi, and several of the big museums, probably the Picasso and Joan Miro museums--but who knows where the day will take us!

Part of the fun of travel is having loose plans and then deviating from them. All I know is that there will definitely be tapas at night and, according to my sister and her husband, a really great Mexican restaurant here. Saturday will most definitely be a day at the beach in Sitges, one of the most idyllic places to swim and sunbathe--and home of the best tapas place on the planet, according to my sister.

Want to know more about my travels in Barcelona and beyond? Look for updates and pictures of my adventures on Facebook!

5 Things I've Learned About Travel from Audrey Hepburn Movies

May 22, 2014

As I get ready for another adventure abroad, watching old Audrey Hepburn movies while packing, it occurs to me that much of what I know about travel comes from her films, especially Roman Holiday, Funny Face, and Sabrina. I grew up watching Hepburn transform herself from the various versions of the quiet country mouse to the cultured, sophisticated woman of the world. She made everything looks so wonderfully marvelous! Even when I finally got to travel abroad for the first time last year, I found myself looking to these movies for inspiration and advice as I got ready to venture into the world--I still do. So if you too are wondering how to get the most out of your trip, be it to a nearby town or across the globe, here are five lessons I've learned from Audrey Hepburn movies to help you on your way.

Hepburn signing "Bonjour Paris!" on the River Seine in Funny Face. — Hepburn signing "Bonjour Paris!" on the River Seine in *Funny Face.*

1. Don't be afraid to be a tourist. As Hepburn and her cronies croon in Funny Face, there is a certain joy in being "strictly tourists." It's okay to snap photos and drool over the Eiffel Tower--lots of Europeans do the same thing when they visit the Southwest. The first time I went traveling in Italy, I tried so hard to look like a real Roman. After day one, I realized no one bought my flimsy act. I was a tourist. They knew. I knew it. I made my peace with it--and had a blast!

Hepburn riding a scooter for the first time in Roman Holiday. — Hepburn riding a scooter for the first time in *Roman Holiday.*

2. Be ready for adventure. Like her princess character in Roman Holiday, learn to be ready for anything when you travel, from dancing on the river (and getting in a brawl shortly after!), to breezing about on your scooter in Rome, to seeing things you never would have dreamed of, like the Colosseum. Travel is always an adventure--don't be afraid to dive right in and enjoy yourself!

Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck drinking champagne at a Roman Cafe in Roman Holiday. — Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck drinking champagne at a Roman Cafe in *Roman Holiday.*

3. No schedules, please! This piece of advice is also from Roman Holiday, when Hepburn, as a burned-out princess, sneaks away from her political duties to spend one day playing in Rome on her own. Her only caveat? No schedules! Having such a regimented life as a princess, she wants her free day to be a series of impromptu bits of fun. Sure, it's a good idea to plan ahead when you travel and get those tickets for the museums and big attractions that you want to see, but do leave time to simply wander, stroll, and drink champagne at a local cafe.

The newly posh Sabrina (in the movie by the same name) returning home after a year in Paris.

4. Let yourself be changed by the experience. In each of these movies, Hepburn gets a total makeover--most notably in her fashion-forward short hair cut (yes, almost all these films feature this, surprisingly!) and stunning new wardrobe. You might not end up with changes so material or obvious, but a good traveler must be willing to let herself be transformed by the places she visits. This could mean enjoying new customs in everyday life or bringing the flavors of your travel home with you in the meals you cook.

Hepburn's character writing to her father as she begin her journey home from Paris in Sabrina. — Hepburn's character writing to her father as she begin her journey home from Paris in *Sabrina.*

5. It's okay to see the world through rose-colored glasses! This last piece of advice comes from Sabrina, as the now-worldly chauffeur's daughter is on her way home after a year in Paris. She talks about learning how to see the world through rose-colored glasses. So I leave you with this thought: be romanced by life, enjoy each simple pleasure on your journey, near or far, get swept up in the delight of it all!

Gone Travelin'

May 21, 2014

Yes, this is exactly how I look after 24 hours of plane hopping...don't you?

By the time you read this, I'll be on a plane across the pond! That's right, I'm leaving my hobbit hole for another summer adventure. Last year it was Italy--my first ever time abroad, a post-Ph.D. treat to myself. This year, I'm taking a whirlwind tour of THREE whole countries: Spain, France, and England, specifically Barcelona, Paris, and London. What an adventure!

And no, I haven't forgotten my promise to write a blog a day this year! It may take some fancy footwork on my part and some patience on your part, but I think a blog a day while traveling is still doable. So in honor of this trip, my blogs for the next two weeks will be focused on the joys of traveling and what I hope to see during this trip. I'll be reflecting on how travel informs and inspired us, and the things I hope to take with me from my destinations: from delicious recipes to ways of thinking to bits of everyday magic.

I'll also try to post pictures of my day-to-day activities on Facebook as I can--so keep an eye out! In the meantime, if you want to learn more about the places I'm going and enjoy some serious eye-candy, check out my travel boards for each location on Pinterest here: Barcelona, Paris, and London.

Until tomorrow!

On Packing Your Suitcase

May 20, 2014

You have learned your lesson from past trips: pack lightly, start early.

The past week has been one of packing and unpacking, rearranging and folding. Your bed has been strewn with dresses and skirts and leggings in an attempt to find a traveling wardrobe that is a unique combination of simplicity, style, and comfort.

Steamer trunks...glamorous? Yes. Convenient?  No.  Travel light! — Steamer trunks...glamorous? Yes. Convenient? No. Travel light!

You wistfully think of the giant trunks Barbara Stanwyck traveled with in The Lady Eve or those boxes upon boxes that Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe tow around in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. These ladies have their arsenal of beauty concoctions and a wardrobe full of fashionable travel ensembles. Yes, that is the romantic notion of travel, always perfectly quaffed and ready for cocktails on the deck as your cruise liner takes you to your exotic destination.

Yet as much as you enjoy that happy vision of travel, you are not so taken with it that you lose all sense of practicality. No, you will stick to a wardrobe of tunics and leggings, walking shoes and plenty of room for souvenirs. It is a treat to take your small suitcase from one stop to the next--never wasting time on lugging steamer trunks about, but simply gliding from one place to the next with ease.

This is your preferred way to travel for all your fanciful musings on your silver screen ladies. As you fold your last tunic into your luggage, you think of your upcoming trip: a Gaudi-feast in Barcelona, days roaming the streets of Paris, high tea in London, leaving plenty of room in your day and your suitcase for experiences and mementos.

Yes, it is nice to travel light.

On Giving In To Doing Less

May 19, 2014

It is one of those days where life won't let you do anything but take care of yourself--despite the things you had hoped to accomplish before traveling, the things you had wanted to cross off your to-do list.

No matter now.

Your body has decided that you need a day to curl up in bed and read your favorite books, to eat chicken noodle soup and drink hot cups of tea. There are still things to do, but your exhaustion has caught up with you. Nothing is as important as resting.

It is as if your body wants to recharge your batteries, store up your energy for vacation--tapas in Sitges, early morning walks along the Seine in Paris, tea in London.

Soon you will be up and about again, but for now, you give into doing less. You close your eyes and snuggle deeper under your blankets.

On Kitchen Sink-ing It

May 17, 2014

You must get creative with the food you have, using it all up before you pack your bags and head out on your next adventure.

It took all your self-control not to over-shop at the grocery store, despite the perfectly rounded artichokes and thick stalks of asparagus staring you in the face. You bought only the bare necessities: coffee and wine. It took even more reserve not to go to the farmers' market; that would only lead to a fridge full of spring's bounty--tender lettuce, red radishes, and if you were lucky, garlic scapes.

You know mustn't do that, hard as it is. Everything but the kitchen sink must go, so you pile your plate with all manner of strange meals. You are traveling soon--that phrase playing round and round your head, a constant reminder--and have to clean out your fridge of anything and everything that won't last till you get back.

It has been a series of creative lunches and kitchen-sink dinners. There was the breakfast omelet with one and a half bell peppers and small wedges of several different kinds of hard cheeses; the lunch of quick pickled carrots, radishes, and cucumbers; the simple dinner of crudités and aioli to use up those eggs and any stray vegetables at the bottom of your crisper. Everything must go!

Then there is the carton of half and half that you try to ration out across the next four mornings, so you don't have to buy another and have it go to waste. There is the watermelon you had forgotten about--the one you intended to juice. A watermelon cooler must be made, perhaps several. You will diligently work on whittling down the contents of your fridge until it is nothing but bare shelves and butter, mustard jars and a wine bottle.

It's as integral to your travel preparations as packing your bags and boarding that plane. Yes, this is kitchen sink-ing it.

On Preparing for Vacation

May 9, 2014

It is more than just packing your bags or finding someone to water your plants while you are gone. More than confirming your plane reservations and outlining your day-to-day plans, a loose collection of potential adventures.

It is in slowing down the weeks before your trip, allowing for time to rest, to play, to nourish the spirit of joie de vivre. You must let your brain begin to breathe, your mind to expand beyond the work desk, or else the shift from your daily routine to far-flung adventure is too much, so abrupt so that you might find yourself in your proverbial business suit on a beach in paradise.

No. You must respect the transition.

Your preparations must include weekends goofing off, long afternoon naps, evenings doing nothing but enjoying your garden. In this, you learn to respect your need to heal, the importance of moving slowly, of doing less. Yes, you are preparing for your vacation by cultivating the pleasure of being less busy, unwilling to commit to a firm schedule or days packed with one event after the other. You court your next adventure with quiet days and impromptu lunch dates, evening cocktails and long mornings drifting through the fun parts of the weekend newspaper. You exchange your work heels for sandals, that business uniform for loose dresses and little makeup.

Only then can you begin to pack for your trip, finalize those little details, and be ready for fun.

Spritz Cocktail

April 25, 2014

This time of year has me pining for travel and adventure--especially now that school is almost at an end. It is as if the long weeks of grading papers have finally caught up with me and I can no longer sit still. I want to move, to be moved, to saturate myself in the bounty of life: art, food, music, laughing, loving.

And yet vacation is still a month away. So how do I cope? Easy! I bring the fun to me! One of the ways I do this is by recreating the wonderful foods and drinks I experienced during my own travels, especially to my travels in Italy, where people really know how to enjoy themselves.

One of my favorite evening cocktails is the Italian spritz, made with Aperol (a bitter orange liquor) and sparkling wine. I was introduced to this drink by my younger sister, an artist who lives in Florence, when I went to visit her and her writer husband last summer. There is nothing more refreshing than this bubbly orange drink after a day of museum viewing, city wandering, and food tasting. Of course, when traveling, you should eat (and drink) like the locals, so I was more than happy to try a local favorite cocktail for apertivo, or the Italian version of cocktail hour.

That said, back state side the drink could be a little too sweet for me, since I wasn't drinking right by the River Arno. Still, I love the idea of the spritz, so I decided to see if I could whip up a version that I could enjoy at home while dreaming of my Tuscan adventures. Typically the spritz is made with 2 parts Aperol, 3 parts sparkling wine, and one part sparkling water. I reduced the amount of Aperol and had my fellow spritz drinkers try it. Viola! We were left with a perfect drink. Feel free to try it the traditional way too, if you like sweeter drinks.

Ingredients:

.75 oz (about 1/2 shot) Aperol

5 oz (about 3-4 shots) of a dry sparking white wine

1.5 oz (1 shot) sparkling water

Ice (optional)

Pour aperol into the bottom of a glass. Add sparkling wine and sparkling water. Add ice if desired--sometimes I put it in, sometimes I don't. Serves one (so double the recipe and invite another adventure seeking friend to join you!). Pairs well with a sunny, Tuscan attitude and a lovely patio garden.

Looks like the perfect way to celebrate the end of the week!

On Goofing Around

March 20, 2014

You don't have any set plans. All you know is that you woke up feeling ready for something. A trip to Santa Fe maybe. Or a cruise down Central. Or even a double feature downtown. The day is calling to you, inviting experiences unfettered by schedules or set plans, only the sweet, buoyant energy of mischief.

Your only promise to the day: to lose track of time. So you do it, and you do it with abandon.

Here is the chocolate shop, where you hem and haw over your options, knowing full well that you will finally settle on your favorite caramel and almond dark chocolate lobos. Then your fancy takes you to the rock and mineral shop--any day is a good day for looking at stones and crystals and finding a new piece of bling to wear. It is the smokey quartz crystal that seduces your first, then the hematite and the lapis laluzi and the howlite and the list goes on and on. You run your fingers over each and everyone one of those stones, feeling the healing vibrations, the strong earth energy that grounds and invigorates...

...which leads you to think of gardening. Or was it the sun and the fresh air that got you thinking this way? No matter. You allow yourself to be swept up in another adventure, on the hunt for supplies for your potted garden--interrupted only by a pit stop at your favorite used bookstore because, well, you could.

Soon your attention is drawn to the idea of refreshments. Lunch, perhaps, or some tea. It doesn't really matter where you go or what you do, only that you don't think too hard about any of it. It is the pleasure principle guiding you from one indulgence to the next.

On Getting Lost in the Desert

March 9, 2014

Driving down to the Westside was not your ideal Friday plan--not even on your top ten list of things to do in Albuquerque. Sure, you love the bosque and cruising down Montgomery over the river and down to the petroglyphs. But that ritual is a far cry from actually having to go somewhere down there and be somewhere by such and such a time.

Nevertheless, you found yourself doing just that: navigating the Westside in an attempt to get to an office meeting. You were very proud of yourself. You left a whole hour early, just to make sure you got there on time, just to leave that little wiggle room for the unexpected twists and turns of the part of Albuquerque that is so foreign to you it might as well be its own city.

It is lovely at first. You drive past the bosque, over the river and turn on Unser, cruising past the petroglyphs into the wide open expanse of the desert. But the open space does nothing to cure your tunnel vision: you must get to the meeting. As you keep driving, a slow sense of unease bubbles up inside of you. You can't seem to find the turn off to Universe, can't find Rainbow either. It is as if the desert has buried its street signs under the bright morning light.

And so you keep driving down Unser, past one Walgreens after another, one housing development after another, until all the Westside blends together in a stream of buildings built over-night. You feel like you stumbled onto the set of a modern Wild West show where everything looks like hastily slapped up storefronts with nothing behind them. Eventually, you lose even that. Any inkling of civilization is left behind and you find yourself on a one-lane road driving deeper into the desert, the mountains ahead of you the only witness to your useless sense of direction. You have never seen this part of the city before and it is as if you stumbled across a lone stretch of land invisible to all in the city except for those willing to get a little lost once in a while.

It is only when you reach the end of the road--literally a dead end in the middle of nowhere--that you pause and examine your directions again. The meeting has already started. Yet despite your need to get back on the road and find your way to civilization, you take a moment to pause, to breathe, to enjoy the desert quiet. It is a gift, you realize--getting lost. A gift from Coyote, that desert trickster that sneaks up on us just when we most need to unplug from our narrow vision and get a bigger world view.

There, alone in the middle of the desert, you realize your life is more than just being a perfect worker bee and getting from one place to the other. It is sand and stone, air and light, mountain and breath. You take this revelation with you as you pull back on the road and find your destination.

On Maybes

February 20, 2014

Maybes: at the crossroad of no and yes. Mislabeled as indecision.

But really the maybe--when used right--is a coy invitation to synchronicity to do what it will. Maybe you will go out for drinks with friends at the end of the day, or maybe you will do yoga, or maybe you will go home, disappear into a hot bubble bath with nothing but a jazz record, a book, and a finger of whiskey to keep you company. You just don't know which way your maybe will pull you.

It is the thrill of possibility, an unplanned adventure ready to unfold if only you don't quite commit to any other plans just yet. It is the last minute decision to turn left instead of continuing to drive straight ahead in the hopes of catching the bookstore before it closes. This maybe invites the day to lead you where it will.

Maybe. It is the sweet pleasure of being gently pulled in one direction, then another over unimportant decisions: perhaps you will get these antique tea cups or maybe these small ceramic plates. It is the potential of a moment, the split second where you can imagine where your life might go.

It is the safety net, this maybe--safer than a clean no, more relieving than a grudging yes. It hides a multitude of sins and births others. Maybe stretches the gap between what might have happened and what could happen.

Maybe. It is our verbal trickster, stirring up life around us and making us hungry for something new.

On Visiting the Herb Store

February 16, 2014

You feel like you've stepped into an old apothecary shop. Jars and jars of herbs, dried flowers, gnarly broken down roots, and strange powders line the shelves.

You run your hands across the line of pots, marveling at the wealth of healing magics birthed from the earth. Each herb is a little miracle, made from dirt and sunlight and water--tiny seeds brought to life by sheer willpower and raised through the ground for no other reason than a will to see the light, breathe in the fresh air that tickles their leaves and feeds their roots. These glorious specimens contain the life force of all they sucked in through their roots, all they absorbed through their leaves.

You have a list of herbs you need. More raspberry leaf for women's health, along with some hops and skullcap for a sleepy time tea recipe you are concocting. You allow yourself to be seduced by the jar of nettle leaves, the prickly thing known best for its sting, but is, at heart, a gentle tonic for the system. You also get taken in by rose hips, more robust than the fragile petals of their flower, an unsung nutritional powerhouse.

You watch the herbalists measure out and weigh your selection, while you contemplate how you will use these new herbs in blends and simple steeps. You can't wait to get home and unwrap your little bundles of herbs and pour them into your own jars, your own collection of earth's healing magic.

On a Deli Lunch in the Sunshine

February 14, 2014

It feels like spring. You woke up ready for an adventure, to push aside the pile of essays you have to grade and to just be, at least for the morning.

The first part of the day is spent running important human being errands: the bead and stone store for new crystals to add to your collection; the herb store to stock up on ingredients for a new blend; the chocolate shop...because, well, chocolate is always a good thing.

The morning slowly turns to noon just as your mind turns from errands to lunch. The day calls for an old school meal at a deli counter. You want a tuna sandwich on rye tucked safely inside a basket lined with wax paper next to some decorative lettuce and a pickle spear.

You find there is no more room at the counter, but it is just a well. The sun has lured you outside to a small patio table. The cool air stirs around you and the light kisses your forehead. A man cruises by, the hood of his car down, blasting oldies from his radio. A woman rushes by carrying a bouquet of flowers. A family talks loudly at a nearby table, clearly enjoying each other. A biker zooms down the sidewalk.

And you: you sit at your table in the sun and enjoy your tuna on rye.

On Long Weekends

January 20, 2014

There is no school today. Still, the fact that you get to sleep in on a Monday gives you the sense that you are playing hooky--giving up on rules and restrictions and deciding to play the day away while others toil their way through nine to five (although you love your nine to five too).

The day is an open book. Where to go...what to do?

The sunlight beckons you out of doors, while the kitchen calls you to conjure up meals--here some breakfast quinoa, there a salad safely tucked inside a mason jar, perhaps even some roasted veggies for dinner. You toy with the idea of crafting, coating paper in glitter and ink, wrapping unused jars in ribbon--a holder for your loose buttons and ephemera.

You briefly entertain the idea of getting ahead on your work, from revising old prompts to organizing cabinets--but quickly dismiss the idea. It would only spoil the day. And you know the thought is only brought on by some vague sense that you should be doing something useful, productive, keeping up that facade of busyness.

No, today is not a day for extra work, but for indulging in those weekend-like pleasures Monday doesn't usually afford--a leisurely breakfast, a morning in the kitchen, an afternoon at the park and visiting family. There will be plenty of other Mondays to refine those lesson plans, to enjoy your cruise to work, but for today you savor the long stretch of time rolled out before you that will be filled on a whim, moment to moment, each impromptu plan a distillation of pure enjoyment.

On Long Walks

January 19, 2014

You wake up with an expansive feeling in your chest, a longing to roam to the farthest reaches of your territory. You want the sun on your skin and fresh air to tickle your nose. There is simply nothing to do but wander wherever your feet will take you--perhaps here to the neighborhood bookstore, or there to the park, full of families playing games and couples walking their dogs. All you know is that you must walk until the bright energy in your chest reaches your toes and your whole body sings with the fullness of life.

The birds support this plan, luring out of your home with their playful chatter and accompanying you as you drift through the city, one step at a time. The naked tree branches remind you that it's still winter, although it feels more like the first kiss of spring in the air.

You pause at each turn to consider your next direction; your decisions move you toward an unplanned adventure, the promise of an unexpected delight. Even as you move forward, a part of you is waiting expectantly, longing for a joyful surprise hidden behind each fork in the road, a mystery to be discovered, a hidden gem of something or another to be revealed. Because today your city is more than just a map of routes that get you from A to B, but a nest of haunts and jewels to be savored, lingered over, like a cup of tea on a cold day.

Eventually, when your legs tire and your appetite for an adventure is sated, you wander home, happy with roaming, but happier still to return to your sanctuary, the promise of a hot bath awaiting you.