I sat down for lunch on Nantucket in June. I was by myself. I had just gone to one of my favorite stores, SPACE. I love little days alone on islands more than most things. That morning I had a latte from The Hub and watched the tourists zigzag around their desires and ice cream. I watched the early summer sun hit the water as I chatted on the phone. I love Nantucket, but that is for another time. My DNA comes from Nantucket, but that is also for another time.

As I sat down, a woman I had met before approached me. She asked me reasonable questions like, How are you? How long are you here? And I asked her an absolutely inappropriate and unreasonable question, and she answered me honestly; a friendship was born. The question is our business, but I am so glad I asked.

I often chastise myself for this quality, like dude, Jen, not everyone wants to expose themselves on the sidewalk. But real talk, mostly I am grateful for it. I am so grateful that I have this somewhere knowledge that we all want to be honest about our lives, but we are scared. When I was a little girl I used to walk into town and go into shops and ask people intimate questions about their human experience; this is still what I do, apparently I cannot be stopped.

We all try so hard to be perfect, whatever we think that is, but what I really miss about the people I lost is their imperfections. I realized when my mother died that I had no one left to have a tantrum with. Sure, the people closest to me get the shitty parts hurled at them from time to time, but sometimes you need to have a messy nasty flailing little tantrum about anything at all. Last month when I found myself in the thralls of being human, I finally said to a couple of close friends, I need to have a tantrum, and they all said I love you, you can have a tantrum here. One of them said, OMG I love tantrum Jen; my little heart exploded! I am still working up my courage but, #goals.

I often hear from clients, oh they have it all figured out, and I can only say, they absolutely do not have it all figured out, because they are having the human experience and LITERALLY NO ONE HUMAN knows what we are actually doing here on earth, so case closed.

That woman’s name is Julie, the woman I asked the question to. Over the course of the week that I was on Island I went and visited her several times at her gorgeous shop, The Verdant Maiden. We sat for hours in big plush chairs and we spoke honestly about our lives. We spoke about what is hard for us, what we are good at, what we want, what we love, what confuses us; we shared what it is to be human, and that is the most beautiful experience we can give each other in my big fat opinion.

I originally created What I Loved back in 2020 to share a snapshot of these beautiful little worlds and people I encounter. What I loved has changed as I have changed, but it all started with ten questions, the questions change a little, but not much. It is such an act of courage to put little pieces of ourselves out in the world and I am so grateful to the people who participate. I am so excited to introduce you to Julie! I think she is just absolutely sparkling!

Self compassion is a practice.

Self honesty is a practice.

Connection is a practice.

If you are looking for anything to change your life. Start there.

I love you. Jenny

Owner/Curator at The Verdant Maiden
@theverdantmaiden
www.theverdantmaiden.com

Where were you raised? Has the landscape of that place influenced your work in any way?

I was raised in South Texas. We moved around A LOT. I think I went to about 13 different schools between Kinder and 12th grade. I'm not sure if it influences my work. It's something I haven't really considered before. Perhaps it makes me grateful for the things I have access to because of my work. I get the opportunity to be discerning now, more educated about ingredients and how they affect our bodies.

What book are you reading?

Oh gosh, I have like five books open and only partially read, the three I can think of... The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, These Precious Days by Ann Patchett, and Want by Gillian Anderson. I really need to get around to reading them.

What was the last thing you fell in love with?

A 9 week old baby whose mother came to visit the shop. new baby smell, so small, so sweet. Made my month!

How do you re-charge your creative battery?

Travel, music (it's always playing in the background), museums, a mix of silence and thought-provoking conversation with my closest friends.

What do you love most about yourself?

I love my ability to think outside the box. To see a different perspective than others. I feel like it's a strong suit of mine and I like that.

THE GORGEOUS SHOP 2 Union St Nantucket, MA

When and where were you happiest?

This is a tricky question for me to answer. If I had to be brutally honest, the weekend I got married, in San Antonio, April 2019. I'm no longer married, but that was the happiest day. Everyone I love was there. I've been happy on and off since then, of course. But so far, that takes the cake, even if everything is different now.

We have 24 hours in your city... What should we do?

Nantucket for 24 hours! We must... get breakfast and a coffee at Born & Bread (they brew Atomic Roasters, my favorite!), walk around town, visit The Verdant Maiden (of course!) and a few of my favorite shops: Jennifer Greenwood Jewelry, Space, The Hospital Thrift. Then we'd grab sandwiches at Something Natural or Claudette's and go for a walk! After a shower and a change, we'd go to Ethos for wine, cheeseboard and snacks, then out of town to Pi Pizzeria to enjoy my two most favorite things on their menu: Chicken Piccata and the Gambella pizza. I guess a lot of my favorite things to do here are centered around eating. Ha!

What do you most dislike?

Not being "good" at feeling my feelings. My brain is on all of the time, so analytical, so it doesn't really come easily. It's something I'm working on. I want to be better at it.

What do you do for yourself when you’re having a hard day?

A sweet treat (ice cream for lunch or I'll make my "famous" skillet cookie), a long shower and lots of sleep. Have you ever seen those memes about Aquarians and their love of being in bed? Yep, that's me, even on a good day.

Before I die I want to....

learn to feel the feels, be doing something I love (which I am!), and have a small house or cottage with a garden (flowers and vegetables) with animals and lots of peace and quiet.