An Abundant Life - Perfectly Delightful

A few years ago when I was shopping at ShopRite in Hoboken, I met a very personable young man who was sharing samples of something called a Perfect Bar. Though I love to cook, I am always on the lookout for healthy snacks that I can carry with me, because sometimes I just don't have the time in my schedule to have full meals throughout the day. Being able to have healthy snacks that are nutritious and delicious is something that I share information about in health and wellness workshops, and whenever I can find an option that is not just something to tide me over but is something that I actually want to have and enjoy I am delighted.

The Perfect Bar samples that I tried that day and the story behind them made me a fan, and ever since whenever I see them in a store or know where to find them, those are the bars that I go to if I need a snack on my way. They're delicious and nutritious and they are made with excellent all natural ingredients. The balance and flavor of them make them a wonderful choice when I don't have time for a full meal.

A little over a week ago when I was at ShopRite, there was a very personable man giving samples of Ithaca Hummus. I know how to make a pretty good Hummus, but it's something I don't do often, and because it's something I like very much, it's something that I will buy premade. I'm always looking for an excellent brand, and so I try different ones, and when I began to try the different flavors of this brand I was impressed by the freshness and quality of the all natural ingredients as well as the variety of flavors. It's really delicious, and as I spoke with the man giving samples, I learned that he is one of the people who founded the brand and also that he is one of the people who founded the Perfect Bar.

As everyone who knows me knows, this blog is all about celebrating people, places and things that are excellent, and as I've been enjoying the Perfect Bar for a number of years and I now have discovered the wonderful Ithaca Hummus, I thought it was time to write about these products and celebrate the very nice people who are making them. Finding products like these is a perfectly delightful experience, and meeting the people who make them is too. When quality and healthfulness and wholesome goodness come together in nurturing food and snacks, life gets more delightful too.

Perfectly Delightful Creations

https://ithacahummus.com

Photograph Courtesy Of The Ithaca Hummus Website

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Rising Above

I have written about the gorgeous Mixologist Stephanie O'Neill in these pages before in posts about her gorgeous creations and also the gorgeous and wonderful places where I find a seat at the bar and have the blessing to enjoy a wonderful meal and the wonderful way she pairs her different creations with food. A few weeks ago I heard that she would be in training in a restaurant that I hadn't been to before, and as soon as I heard where it was I began making plans to be there as soon as she sent out the word that she was ready for visitors.

Bar 54 is on the 54th Floor of the Hyatt Centric in Times Square, and though I wasn't exactly sure which building it was, I knew it would be a delightful experience to go there and take in the view while trying some menu items along with Stephanie's gorgeous mixology. When I arrived at the building, there was such a pleasant welcome from the staff at the front desk that I felt immediately as if I was in a place I'd want to come back to. True hospitality can do that, it's an art that helps visitors feel like they're in a special place while also feeling right at home and welcomed. As I arrived on the 54th Floor, the decor was so lovely and again, the staff so welcoming and kind and helpful, that though it was a very cold night I was so glad I'd made my way to this very special rooftop jewel.

The regular menu has some wonderful creations on it, from light bites to mixology delights, and Stephanie as always was working on some new ideas that I was able to enjoy watching her create. I had a plan to try three different selections from the kitchen and enjoy Stephanie's wonderful ability to pair them with her own suggestions, but I was having such a wonderful time that all of a sudden I realized that it was late enough that I'd want to leave soon. That's not always the case in every place, that every moment is so enjoyable and time goes by so quickly, and it's a credit to everyone who I met that evening who is part of the team that I almost stayed much, much longer. As it was I'll be planning my next trip back as soon as I can, to go and enjoy this beautiful space, the beautiful views, the beautiful hospitality and the beautiful food and mixology.

A Visit To Bar 54

At The Hyatt Centric

With Mixology Creations

By The Gorgeous Stephanie O'Neill

135 West 45th Street

New York, New York

https://www.hyatt.com/hyatt-centric-times-square

https://www.hyatt.com/hyatt-centric-times-square/dining

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Life Stories

In 2005 I met a couple who owned a six foot Iguana. It was a time in my life of so many challenges, and they were such a lovely couple and their story was so enchanting and fun that I asked them if I could write a children's story about them. I had the feeling that if I could write the story in an engaging way that it could become a series, and I had in my mind the idea of a Curious George type of character, an animal, or in this case an Iguana, that is owned by humans and is always exploring and discovering and learning about life, sometimes getting into mischief, but always loveable and with a message in the stories that transcended the story itself to help people of all ages to think about their own lives and experiences in new ways.

The couple I met were named Jo and Joe, and when they said enthusiastically yes, that I could I write the story, I sat down and as happens often when I write creatively, it just flowed out of me. I always used to say that I'm not an Artist, but what I realized in recent years is that what I really mean is that I'm not a figurative Artist. I don't know how to draw figures or portraits, and so when I had my children's story written and I'd shared it with Jo and Joe, I started asking people I knew who were Artists and Illustrators and Animators if they or someone they knew would be interested in drawing the characters and illustrating the book. Over the years I've met many people who really liked the idea, and at the time I wrote it I was introduced to someone who worked with the Cartoon Network and I submitted it as a proposal for a show. They liked it too, but even when there were people who liked it, the story somehow just never sparked that certain thing that makes someone want to illustrate or animate or collaborate.

A few months ago, Serena Cacace who is an Artist I'd met in my neighborhood and who had visited YES Gallery a number of times, asked me if I had an ideas for a collaboration. She had moved out of the area and so we would have to work on something together that could be done online of by mail, and when I read her message, I thought about my children's story. I told her about it and sent it to her, and she responded with an enthusiastic yes, and within a very short time she started showing me sketches and ideas. We sent messages to each other and I shared some ideas and images I have from other children's stories with a variety of Artist illustrators and their styles, and what emerged from Serena was so completely her own creation and so wonderful that I began to see my story coming to new life.

The title of the story is Arugula The Iguana, which is the Iguana's real name. Jo and Joe named her that because she loves eating Arugula. As I reread the story and began to see the beautiful illustrations that Serena was creating and sending to me, I realized that in a way Arugula's story is partly reflected in my own life. At the time that I wrote it, my life was in such a difficult place, and the story and journey of Arugula is about finding love and hope and acceptance and a family in sometimes very unexpected and nontraditional ways.  I'll be sharing more about this story as the journey continues, but for now here are a few of the gorgeous illustrations created by Serena Cacace for you to enjoy.

Arugula The Iguana

Illustrations By Serena Cacace

For A Children's Story

Written By Jannie Wolff

Blessings,

Jannie Susan

An Abundant Life - Beautiful Star

A few weeks ago I wrote about an event at YES Gallery that was a very special evening to celebrate a collaboration between my project Love & Plenty and Chefs For Seniors Founder Ron Tornari and to introduce the wonderful work that Ron Tornari does through his organization and his not for profit, providing healthy and delicious meals prepared in home for older adults and people of all ages and backgrounds. At the time of that post, I wrote about some of the beautiful people who were at the gallery that night, and about the interviews that the beautiful Joy, the Founder of Be The Difference LLC, had done while she was at the gallery, asking people to share what they do in their communities to make a difference. It was such a lovely evening, and you can read more about it here, but this week I want to write more in depth about one of the beautiful women who attended, the Creative Director, Musician, Spokeswoman, and Model, Katia Biassou.

I met Katia last summer at a gorgeous event for the Red The Luxury Life Marco Maranghello Cover Launch that I had been graciously invited to by the beautiful Ivonne Camacho, the Creative Director and Founder of AbsolutModerne, a PR company which specializes in luxury website and leading edge online media. You can read more about the beautiful event and the beautiful magazine here, and as I wrote at that time the evening was such a very special one, and it would have been a blessing just to be there, but the beautiful people who Ivonne introduced me to that night and who are truly bright lights in their work and industry made the evening memorable and life changing in ways that are still unfolding as time goes on. Ivonne is such a beautiful and special person, and the people who are around her are not only talented as she is, but they are beautiful inside and out as she is too.

Ivonne had made a special trip to visit YES Gallery for the one year anniversary, and she brought several of her lovely friends with her. As I wrote at that time, they all were so kind and gracious and they made the evening such a beautiful, special and memorable one with their generous kindness, support and presence. Other beautiful friends of hers have attended other events, and Katia had been wanting to visit but her schedule is so very busy. When she arrived on the night of the event in December, it was after a very long and work-filled day and week, and I am so grateful to her for making the long trip and taking the time to be there. Her interview with Joy, the Founder of Be The Difference LLC, is so lovely as she is, and it was such a wonderfully kind an generous gift they both gave me to not only take the time in their busy schedules and lives to be at the event but to bring their gifts and blessings and talents to shine at the gallery. 

This past week as I was posting a photograph of the window where Katia was sitting when she had been interviewed by Joy, I saw in a post by Ivonne Camacho and AbsolutModerne that Katia would be participating in the Mrs. New Jersey America Pageant and so I added that information to my post. I remember as a little girl watching the different pageants and seeing over the years so many women who were not only beautiful, but who were doing so many wonderful things. Being a part of a beauty pageant is hard work, and being accepted is an honor. I'm so proud of Katia for accepting the opportunity and I'm proud and blessed to know this beautiful woman whose hard work, kindness, community outreach, charitable work, and excellence in every aspect of her life shines so brightly and has brought her to this place. 

After I posted my photograph with the mention of Katia and her participation in the Mrs. New Jersey America Pageant, I was blessed to see a beautiful post by Katia thanking me for my support. I am an encourager and when I can do something kind and supportive for people who are doing wonderful and beautiful things with excellence, I do what I can to support them. To receive such a lovely thank you from Katia was such a beautiful surprise and experience, and speaks volumes of the kind of person she is. I am so grateful to Ivonne Camacho for having introduced us, and for the invitation to the Red The Luxury Life Marco Maranghello Cover Launch event where we met. It's people like this who make my life so sweet and fill it with abundance as they shine brightly as beautiful stars who help light the way.

With The Beautiful Stars

Tinu, Katia Biassou, and Ivonne Camacho

At The Red The Luxury Life

Marco Maranghello Cover Launch

Photograph By The Marvelous Star Victor Kaminski

With The Beautiful Star Katia Biassou

At YES Gallery

Photograph By The Beautiful Star Katie Duffy McGeehin

A Beautiful Post

By The Beautiful Katia Biassou

Blessings,

Jannie Susan