"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." E. B. White

Good morning friends! After 5 sunny days in California, I'm back in the Eastern snowglobe. The snow has been falling steadily since early this morning, and I am watching it pile up on my fire escape as I type. It's beautiful, and yet to be perfectly honest, I'm a tad annoyed as it's completely thrown off my plans for the day. We were supposed to shoot this morning (and I stayed up late last night cooking) but the the weather's so bad that my photographer Signe can't get into the city. Plus it's a little nerve-wracking picking up props when it's so slick on the sidewalks. So we're postponing until tomorrow, and hoping that the conditions will be a little better.

If there's one thing I should have learned by now, it's that things don't always go as planned. Case in point: this blog post. I had it slated for Tuesday, but the day was spent entirely in transit – I left my friend's apartment in L.A. at 8:30 a.m. and, after travel by car, plane, and taxi, I finally got back to my apartment in NYC around midnight. I suppose I could have written my blog post on the plane, but I spent the time catching up on emails, mapping out our upcoming photo shoots and prep lists, and journaling about the weekend. I figured I could write this post yesterday before I left the house, but I got a bit of a late start on my morning (my body's still on CA time!) and had to run straight to two meetings, and then spent the rest of the day shopping and prepping for the photo shoots. Which are now delayed. Arghh!!

Deep breath. Life happens. We make mistakes, we get behind, plans are derailed - often by circumstances outside of our control. And we are then faced with a choice: to kick and scream and shake our fist at the sky, or to make the most of the cards dealt us. Today, I spent the first hour or so feeling uselessly frustrated, but now I'm trying to make the most of my extra time: to cook for tomorrow's photo shoot, to get ahead on some blog posts, to answer some more emails.

Banana-Muffins

But truthfully, if I could do anything, I'd start the day all over. I'd go back to bed and sleep in a little bit. I'd make a pot of coffee and some warm banana walnut muffins. I'd take the day slowly, enjoying the snowy day as an excuse to rest. I'd do some yoga, do some writing, and maybe take a nap. I can totally relate to that E.B. White quote above - on any given day I'm so torn between wanting to do (to change the world, to get stuff done, to stick to a plan) and wanting to be (to just enjoy and soak it all in!).

In California, I had the chance to go on a gorgeous solo hike at Temescal Canyon. Climbing the hilly trails in the sunshine, with views of the Pacific Ocean in the distance, was a great perspective-shifter for me. It reminded me that I have got to FIGHT to create space. Solitude and rest are life-giving to me, but they don't happen unless I carve out the time. I've written about this topic on the blog, but it truly is hard for me to implement it in my daily life. But without taking time to breathe deeply, to think, and to enjoy, life quickly becomes drudgery.

If you're on the East Coast today and find yourself stuck at home because of the snow, make the most of it. Try and enjoy the change of plans, even if it feels frustrating. Do something you've been wanting to do, whether that's baking some cookies, making a pot of soup, or just reading a book. Rest. Relax. Tomorrow's a new day.

Photos by Signe Birck; props by ABC Home.