Zen Shop

“ Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

-John Lennon

To ensure that we balance informative inspirational posts with seasonal slow cooking recipes, Jane and I sketch out our editorial calendar a year in advance. My post for February, focused on our new Zen Cooking Light series, was almost ready for Jane’s edits when “life happened.”

Our “life” is a new retail spot at the Andersonville Galleria in Chicago. The Galleria is a fun and funky artisan co-op, filled with 70 “mini” shops, set in a lively neighborhood filled with restaurants, yoga studios, bookstores and cafes. We couldn’t be more excited about our newest addition.

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When I received confirmation of our lease, I jumped into my car with a tape measure to layout out our 4’ x 4’ x 4’ retail nook. Neither of us have merchandising experience so we poured over Pinterest pages, Crate & Barrel and Food Purveyors for inspiration. Being a visual learner I built a diorama of our space before making a life-size mock up in my basement to show Jane.

Like the pleasant feeling you have when totally focusing on something new like a yoga pose, I was completely absorbed in this new task. It brought a little zen to me in a way that was unanticipated.

I’m sharing this journey because the experience really challenged me to try something new.  It helped me realize that even in the mid-point of my life I could discover a whole new side of myself – one that I didn’t know existed.