Sometimes, table for one trumps table for 2. Whilst @amyleerva is outta state, I’m in a state of solo domestic bliss. Last night: on-the-town adventures with 3 clever, zesty, elegant women at @rvasymphony & @sciencemuseumofvirginia. Today: Party of 1. Sleep, gym, steam, cook, dine, read, write, chill. Privileged and grateful to have hold-their-own children and got-her-shit-together partner, so that I can take a weekend to recharge and pamper, enjoy #rva, and create at home. Menu: Herb-crusted whole red snapper stuffed with garlic, citrus and cilantro. Roasted on a salt block on fast high heat to start. That generous drizzle of olive oil crisped the skin nicely. And slower lower temp dried out the fins for spectacular cracklins. BTW, roasted cilantro is slap! A cross between kale chips and broccolini tips. 2nd best #wholefish of my life. (@joseenriquepr will forever own 1st place.) Miso quinoa with yellow pepper, red chili sauce, green onion, and black sesame seed. #happyaccident (I was aiming for soup.) High Five cocktail. This new fave is my first foray into the instantly essential #cocktailcodex. It’s #Aperol color, grapefruit acid, and pithy bitterness met the dish with style and ample bright labor to get the job done. 2017 @cavaavinyo vi d’agulla Petillant Blanc, Penedes, España, washed it all away. Reset my salt meter and fizzed any fuzz off my tongue. Gracias@ @seccowinebar (via whom I became reacquainted this week with the handwritten apology note. #fauxpas) Peeking into the scene: @hand.thrown @newyorkermag @roycetakespics @honeycutla @steadysounds @westelm #tableforone #catsaway #micewillplay #homealone #partyofone

While we don’t really celebrate February 14 in our household, we do generally observe it. This morn, I expressed my #Valentines love via pancakes. My dear @amyleerva, these maple syrup’d hearts – and mine – are yours.

A 3-ring circus of Vita, Jules & Walken. Good luck taming any one of these characters.

2018 proved to be a demanding, amazing year for me. Yet one of the most challenging for my family. After topping it off with an especially decadent December, I needed recalibration & grounding. The hard reset for body, mind, spirit? A serious fast. Enter the #MasterCleanse. After 2 days of raw-only, on the eve of Sat, Jan 26, I shared an apple with @dolce_cecilia_vita. It was the last food I ate until this afternoon. 9 days of sustenance by lemon juice, grade A raw maple syrup & cayenne pepper. I still did life. Baked bread w @megjinsunmi, sliced mortadella for @evacolen @dereksalerno, took @amyleerva to @alewiferva, meditated in the woods, hosted a wine dinner attended by @ecscb, chilled past midnight w @simonesez @chefdavidguas. Only water, I took. “Listen to your body,” said @rasahealth. Last night, I hosted at @barboursville w magnums paired w estate pork followed by a Super Bowl after-party w @catherinemiles @adamcaperton. Only water, I took. “Listen to your body,” said @thegordinier. Today, I saw this bowl of root vegetable broth from #PalladioRestaurant and hesitated not. My body was ready; my mind was even. I savored each spoonful, grateful for its rich warmth, nourishment. Guests were partaking in a vertical of recent #Octagon vintages and barrel samples. Luca told the origin story, how there may or may not be any remaining bottles of that 1995 First Edition. “I’ve never even seen it,” I told him, “and I’ve only tasted Second Edition one time about 15 years ago.” He admitted that he hadn’t tasted it in a decade. He smiled, “Let’s open one!” There are 9 btls left. I decanted the 1997 for us and sipped it slowly with my broth. Thanks in part to a pristine cork, the wine’s brightness survived totally intact and alive, with meaty, umami notes, unbelievable freshness. My fast is joyfully, gracefully complete. And while I do not recommend it lightly, I cannot overstate the transformative powers of #fasting: clarity, balance, restoration, healing among them. I am again present to the plate and each bite and sip before me. I’m certainly not against decadence, but I am even more for mindfulness.

I didn’t grow up there, but I became a grown-up there. First book, first wife, first Chartreuse VEP... all in the 404. Thrilled to shout Atlanta for @esquire on the eve of #SBLIII. I built my house in #RVA, but my foundation was laid in The A. Grazie to my amazing contributors: @chefkevingillespie @gina.hopkins @chefnickleahy @bartsasso @millerunionchef @thedrinkingcoach @sommsouth @thatsommlawyer @chauneuf @jacobgragg1 @sweetkaceyjane @psychopia @cdieterbush @roycetakespics @dloveatl @360mediainc @organizednoize @dungeoneze @ricowadedf @sleepybrown @englishanj @cathyhuyghe

This #Sagittarius is feeling the pull of that hella #fullmoon in #Cancer. Proper light show for the longest night of the year. Marveled over La Luna’s Mares and Craters through a @celestronuniverse #nexstarevolution6 and then aimed a @leicacamerausa #vlux skyward for this shot. Farewell 2018 ... and hello new cycle as our Sun enters #Capricorn. Renewal awaits us all. #lookupmore #scienceiscool #astronomyphotography #moon

Got to be on the other side of the table and just enjoy @barboursville as an overnight guest. Grazie mille @kittytompkins for spoiling @amyleerva and I with #PalladioRestaurant and the #1804Inn’s Octagon Suite overlooking these historic #Ruins. ❤️ me some #VAwine. #birthdayweekend #sagittariusseason

Before dawn, I spied Venus, Alpha Virginis, and this #thumbnailmoon conspiring in the southeastern sky. Thanks for zooming me in, #vlux.

My #redletterday just turned radically yellow. #ginkgo