The Brunch of My Dreams
One of the more sacred pages within my phone’s trusty Notes app has become this note I started a couple years ago titled The Gals Brunch of My Dreams. In hindsight, the inclusion of the word “gals” seems a bit redundant, as conceptually, the nature of brunch is inherently feminine.
I started drafting the note to be better prepared for the next time I am asked my dream dinner guest. When put on the spot and asked to identify favorites, I tend to sweat and draw a blank. I have this recurring daymare where I am on a talk show, asked this question, but then I just pause, nervously laugh, and respond with, “I don’t know.”
Well, it turns out I don’t have a dream dinner guest so much as a fleet of dream brunch guests. Checks out.
The note includes a guest list and a menu. I don’t think of this note as something that will one day become a finished project, but a dynamic space that will continue to be added to and tweaked over the years, an ever-evolving dream. My guests include famous artists, women I know personally, a number of women who are no longer alive, and the occasional mythical figure. The brunch of my dreams is not tethered to limits such as mortality or planes of existence.
There is a sub-section of the guest list titled, If Guys Are Allowed (for guys like Mac Miller). Perhaps it should also be noted that this isn’t simply a list of my favorite people. There are many people whom I love dearly who I don’t think would fully appreciate this brunch. That being said, I also can’t help but wonder if many of the people I do have on the list would find it overwhelming, too.
Among the cast of characters I’d like to share pancakes and sip kombucha or natural wine with, you’ll find: Mary Oliver, Alexi Pappas, Chani Nicholas, Hilma Af Klint, Florence Welch, Willow Smith, Empress Sisi, Mitski, Hildegard of Bingen, Fiona Apple, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Mary Magdalene, Doechii, Lilith, and more.
I cobbled together the above mock-up to give the gist of what this splendid soirée might look like. You can see I’d need a bigger table.
In my senior year of college a number of my housemates and I ran the local half marathon. (For the purpose of this anecdote, I’m referring to them as my ‘college housemates’, but it bears mentioning that these are the same gals I’m chumming around this city with nearly 10 years later.🖤)
None of us really trained for this race that would fall on a cold, windy, grey, early-April Sunday in Northeastern Pennsylvania. After finishing, we hosted a party at our house. All of us were clad in post-race sweats with medals hung around our necks. Because of the dismal weather, the party was inside. We didn’t dine at our ‘dining room’ table much, but I think this was the only time we used it for playing flip cup.
As more and more friends arrived to join the fun, we kept moving furniture around to add more surface area to the table and accommodate the latest attendees. Our makeshift table eventually extended from the dining room into the living room. It reminded me of one of my favorite children’s stories, The Mitten. While the working draft for my dream brunch menu does not include a keg of Natural Light — I envision the gathering would have that same warm, quick-to-welcome energy.
Obviously, this list has become much more than just a cheat sheet for the niche scenario in which someone asks me my dream dinner guest. This list of muses and mentors I’ve never met has revealed itself to be an invigorating thought exercise, prompting me to consider the threads of connection that exist among the people I dream of bringing together to share time and space.
The women I’ve outlined are loud about their multitudes. They don’t shy away from dancing with shadows or darkness — both their own and that of society. They’re ambitious, messy, and candid about their imperfections. They’re embodied but know there’s so much more at play than what the eyes see as tangible. They observe and honor nature with a sense of awe. They’re in communion with their creativity, sexuality, and the Divine; and understand how the three are interconnected. They’re rulebreakers and god worshippers.
By fleshing out this dream scenario, you gain insight into the direction your curiosity is pulling you. As you look around the table of your mind’s eye, you have the opportunity to learn something about yourself and how you want to spend your time—the books you want to read, the habits you want to practice, the albums you want to listen to, the places you want to visit, the type of friend you want to be, the gatherings you want to host—collecting all sorts of clues about how to lead a life that feels authentic, aligned, and fulfilling to you.
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XX, Sarah Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this and it got you pondering, I'd love to hear about the dinner/brunch/tea/etc. party of your dreams. Who's attending? What's on the menu? Do you know what you're wearing? Happy daydreaming.
Sarah