Eat. Write. Love.

My friend Francesco just opened his latest restaurant location in Manhattan in December. I wanted to support him in his latest venture when I was in the city in February, so I booked a table for six for me and my friends on the opening night of the trade shows.

As the plane ascended for New York, I swiped and swiped and swiped through the extensive movie selection. I stopped at Eat, Pray, Love. I had to watch the scene in the pizzeria in Naples. L'antica Pizzeria da Michele is famous for inventing the margherita pizza, named for the special pizza created for the queen who requested to try the food of the people.

I had lunched there years ago with Francesco when I was traveling to Capri with Annabelle.

While we were waiting for the enormous personal paper-thin crust pizza to be served, Francesco informed us of his plans to bring the restaurant to the US, starting with a location in Los Angeles. Pizza is not considered a guilt-free dish and I wondered how many Angelenos would flock to his new place. However, after I finished consuming every inch of the melt-in-your-mouth double mozzarella disc, I knew he’d be successful.

As much as I love retail, I’ve been questioning what else I could do. I’ve been told recently that I should write a book, but I have no clue what I’d write about. I’m always in search of an idea. So, I took my laptop out to take notes while I watched the movie in case something inspired me.

“Balance is not letting anyone love you less than you love yourself.”

“Love, a simple word, for complicated emotions.”

As Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, it made sense that love was resonating with me.

But it was the main character’s quest to understand and define herself with a word that inspired me most.

My word is curious. I believe everything has layers and connections. I’m always searching for the deeper meaning of things because there is always more.

For example, I bumped into a top executive of the first trade show I attended. I remarked that I was disappointed that there were wristbands and no buyer badges because I enjoy seeing where people are from. It’s a great ice breaker to open a conversation when I see that someone is from Winnipeg or DC.

The next day I attended another show that issued badges. I spied one from Muttontown and walked up to the couple to let them know how much I loved their shop that I visited last summer. We immediately connected like old friends and were quick to share vendor leads. Turns out we share a love of so many of the same artists and designers.

That evening, too tired to go out after work, I ordered in spicy ramen and randomly caught Psychic Shirley’s live on Instagram, 45 minutes earlier than she usually appears. She was pulling tarot cards and for the first time I typed a question.  “What should I write about?” She didn’t answer me.

I kept thinking about the power words possess. So, I grabbed my phone and typed “conscious living” into the notes to see if I would find products that matched it. As I walked the show on Tuesday, I found a bunch of items from face masks to felted animals. It worked!

The following day, I experimented again, this time writing “discovery.” My plan for my last day in the city was to wander around home décor shops and grab a latte at my favorite café off Madison.

I always cut through Bergdorf’s jewelry department to take the back elevator to the home floor. I was stopped in my tracks by a designer who displayed a plate with paper and pencil that encouraged me to write down what I wanted to manifest today. I told her that I had already written it down before I set out for my day. I asked her how she knew she wanted to be a designer and discovered that she began by working with her mom. I told her that’s how I got my career start as well and wished her all the best with her pop-up shop.

My next stop was Via Quadronno where I unfortunately found out that my usual coffee and panino went from $12 to $16. Then I visited my friend Elad’s stunning new shop, L’Objet, where I learned about all his new designs that will be releasing in March. My manifesting was working.

On my walk back to the hotel, I cut through Central Park. It’s my ritual to go there after the trade shows. I need to breathe and listen to he sounds. It soothes and inspires me.

Birds were chirping like it was spring. I heard a musician singing Sinatra by the Alice statue at the Boat Pond. I looked up at 20 pigeons sitting on a wire and wondered why they are a trend animal this season. I saw them all over the show from greeting cards to dog toys to potato chip bag clips.

As I exited the park, I spied a series of marketing banners. “What a joy to be able to explore all the hidden treasures and pleasures of the park.”

And then, there it was.  My answer, hanging on a light post.

“For a writer, Central Park, and its gravitational energy, is the ultimate muse.”

The park may have lit my fire to write, but pizza sparked my desire.