I'll confess, I'm having some trouble knowing just what to say in this space these days. We've been in the weeds around here with some stuff, all manageable, but still. It's kind of one-foot-in-front-of-the-other time. I'm sapped.

Neel and I sneaked out to run some errands a few weeks back, and I'm still thinking about our stop at a newish Norfolk spot called Savor the Olive. Wall to wall olive oils and vinegars. We went in to look around, and came out with two oils and two vinegars. Hello. Totally delightful. We were the only ones in the shop, and we got a tour of flavors. Neel even went to the dark, infused-with-chili-pepper side. (I was willing to try the hot. He tried the very hot.)

We brought them home, and I was immediately mindful of something my friend Seamane once said to me. She'd made it a New Year's Resolution: to use her stuff. A lot of us fall into that trap, don't we? We get something we really like, maybe special bath salts or a fine chocolate and we dribble it out to ourselves, holding back. Neel and I are notorious for doing this with our souvenirs from our travels. But! But! If we use the last of the olive oil from Greece (or the tea from London or the candle from Paris, and on and on), it's GONE. But if we never use the stuff, then what we really lose is the joy of having it.

So I decided to savor my olive oil. We've been using it all the time. We got two pairings, essentially. A robust Spanish oil called Melgarejo/Frantoio that we've paired with a lavender-infused balsamic. I've been using that as a basic vinaigrette on salads or to dip our pretzels in. The other pairing? Persian Lime infused olive oil paired with a coconut infused white balsamic.

Last Saturday, we had a late lunch because of Cal's game (boy deserved some chicken wings after a stellar outing), so rather than fix the heavy dinner we were planning, we picked up some shrimp to throw on the grill. Marinated in Persian Lime infused olive oil, coconut infused white balsamic with a dash of red pepper flakes and some lime zest, THIS is why you use your stuff. This is how to savor.

I'm trying to get better at a lot of things, and this is one.