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Posted on May 17, 2016 by Vanja

Exploring coffee traditions – East meets West

"My earliest memories of coffee take me back to when I was barely three or four years old. On a daily basis, whether with guests or within the family, I witnessed people gathering and spending time together to enjoy this aromatic drink. There were jokes and laughter, tears, stories of my grandparents’ childhoods, stories of love and loss and everything in between."

I’ve never been much of a coffee drinker – partly because the bitter taste did nothing for me and partly because it can lead to, how shall I put this, frequent trips to the ladies’ room. In the last few months though, I couldn’t help and feel that I am missing out on one of life’s simplest yet apparently most enjoyable pleasures. So I decided I was ready to give it another try and embark on my coffee discovery adventure. Now, let’s make it clear that when I speak of coffee I am not referring to the watered down North American version, a double-double or some fancy, concoction from Starbucks. I am talking about Turkish coffee. (more…)

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Vanja

I remember when I lost my mind…

"Because of my mental illness, I have in the past been labeled everything from negative and anti-social to passive aggressive – all labels that are rooted in personal and perceptual biases of individuals who find it easier to just slap an inaccurate label on a fellow human being rather than offer the benefit of the doubt or a kind word."

I often hear the Gnarls Barkley song Crazy in my head…“I remember when I lost my mind.” How many of us can say that they remember when they lost their mind? I can. I wish I didn’t, but I do. Perhaps I have always been prone to depression and anxiety, it is genetic after all. Perhaps it was my life circumstances of living through a war as a child, seeing a loved one die, or immigrating to a new country – whatever the reason, it happened. Losing control of ones’ mind is like losing control of your limbs, being stuck in one place: in a looped replay of the scariest, darkest, exhausting and most debilitating thoughts and emotions without the ability to move forward or run away. You can’t just snap out of it. You can’t “unthink” what is in your head, there is no undo, or reboot – just a constant struggle to climb out of the pit and maybe see the light. (more…)

Posted on May 1, 2016 by Vanja

Do what you love

"So here I am – ready to lead by example and ready to finally do something I love. Light and Airy has been my dream for a long time. Is it meant to be the place where I get to share with others the things, people, places, stories and ideas that inspire me and bring joy to my soul."

My whole life I have been waiting. Waiting for the war to end. Waiting to grow up. Waiting for love. Waiting to be a mom. Always waiting, for that next thing, experience, that life might throw my way. This way of thinking was probably a direct result of my less than typical childhood growing up in the middle of a war in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 1990s. The psychological pressure of not knowing if you will live or die, or if you will have something to eat or drink the next day, definitely took its toll on my life. I always approached life and its multifaceted experiences with more than a dash of fear: afraid to make mistakes, afraid to get hurt and afraid of change. So I just waited. (more…)

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