The rain came down so gently all day Saturday, which encouraged us to snuggle a little closer indoors with those we love. Our February From Mat to Table experience, Feel the Love, involved lots of snuggles, loving, touching and squeezing.
Beautiful white roses were scatted throughout the house amongst dozens of tea candles. The smell of lavender and peppermint oils hung in the air. And, the gentle buzz of conversation commenced as our community started to gather for their next adventure on a single mat, ready to dive right into the ancient practice of Thai Massage.
We started with some standing partner poses, mirroring warrior two and triangle pose together, and gently opened up the heart space. On the floor, we flowed in and out of some hip openers and breathed our way through some spinal twists.
When it was time to dim the lights and start the massages, we played rock-paper-scissors for who would get to go first. With our partner lying in Savasana, we began with the calves and slowly compressed our way to their quads. It wasn’t long before we intentionally moved our way up to the crown of the head. We offered some guidance through a few gentle neck elongations and suggestions for rubbing the temples, forehead and scalps. With assistance, we flipped our lovers on to their stomachs. Here tender loving care was paid to their shoulders, feet and hands. The practice ended with both parties feeling equally refreshed, aligned and more connected than ever.
After a lot of physical touch, each couple exchanged a kiss, a few words of affirmation and two-by-two they flowed From Mat to Table.
In the kitchen, Karli had a the ovens, stove, slow cooker, and grill rolling with aphrodisiacs. Nothing makes a Valentine’s Day more complete than oysters and champagne. One hundred fresh Blue Point Oysters were shucked and served three ways: Raw, on the half-shell with lemons, cocktail, hot, and a mignonette sauce; Rockefeller style, with country bacon, spinach, and shaved parmesan; and, Frenched, yes…just like the kiss, and just like the soup!
Our second course was a field greens salad with candied walnuts, an assortment of berries and homemade dressings. Some enjoyed a red-wine vinaigrette with chopped Italian herbs, and others drizzled the gorgeous pink Cupid's dressing onto their salads, a Greek yogurt-base, emulsified with roasted beets, shallots and garlic.
Our main course was homemade fusilli pasta served with a light Fra Diablo Rose Vodka sauce. The accompanying meat included a side of two different fresh stuffed sausages: spicy Italian and country-style. Herb encrusted hot buns and butter were passed, and the groups bellies were filled with so much goodness. We ended the evening with chocolate covered strawberries, espresso and a few whipped cream body shots!
There was magic and love and so much togetherness. The more gratitude we feel, the more we realize there is an infinite supply. Namaste to each of the beautiful people who joined us, the local markets that help support our dreams, and the universe for all of the blessings we continue to receive.
-Molly & Karli