I pride myself on having a pretty good ability to cook a delicious meal and make it look pleasing. But there are times, albeit infrequent, when the meals are just downright horrid. It was the first time I was cooking for my sweet friend Lauren. I had planned and thought things through and assumed that meal preparation would just flow. Ha! It was awful.

Mistake Number One –I rushed. Worked too late that day. I needed to make sure I left on time so I would have enough time.

Mistake Number Two — I shopped during my lunch hour that day. Try to avoid this. It is nothing but frazzling and throws off your day.

Mistake Number Three — I bought a piece of salmon that was wild caught, yet still frozen. In the end, it was inedible.

So what did I do? Plated it. Ate the salad and the summer squash, and poured generous glasses of wine. Thankfully our conversation was so engaging we barely, or least I, barely noticed the horror of it all.

Here’s the thing. I only invite forgiving and fun people into my home. I am so imperfect and so bent on enjoying my friends that you have to be a little flexible. Gone are the days when I really sweated over a meal. I am completely dedicated to doing my best, but there are times when I fall short. And I can forgive myself for that. We should all just take ourselves a little less seriously and enjoy ourselves a lot more.

And I am grateful to Lauren for reminding me of that.