This is why I am hosting a retreat.

I’m sitting in a cloud. Quite literally. I’m at 8,000 feet above sea level in Granby, Colorado and I can see the fine mist of water floating in the air. As I write this I am finishing up five and a half weeks of a self-guided retreat, representing more than five months of time spent on retreat over the past two years.

Today’s cloud is apt. I went into my first retreat in February, 2022 on the Outer Banks in search of clarity. I had launched my TV series, I had released the second edition of my first cookbook and I was wondering what’s next. I received a message loud and clear on my first day there, “Do more of this. Do it for a year.” Whether that was my subconscious or the divine I pushed back. Until I didn’t.

I have learned that it wasn’t about lifting the clouds to see everything in stark clarity, but to engage the process, to wander in the mist — with intention and focus — and let those answers reveal themselves. I have gained new clarity on the abundance in my life, especially of people who love me and who I deeply love. I have found new priorities and peace. And, when I’m not sitting in that stillness, I’m still working my butt off, but I’ve now found the freedom to measure my success by joy and connection and not the need to measure up, to prove my worthiness, to be of value to other people, rather than just be with them, fully.

Now I want to share this with you. Three nights on the Outer Banks in a waterfront home. Deep self-care, connection with a group of like-minded people asking the same questions about their lives, and conversation about how to make meaningful change, either in the activities of your life or how you see what you already do and have.

And yes, there will be food: farm-fresh, deeply connected to the people who produced it. Cooking has and always will be a powerful way to create joy and connection. I will cook for you and we will cook together.

I don’t know who of you this is for, right now at this time in your life, but I’m here and I trust we’ll connect. Join me this February on the Outer Banks. I’d love nothing more than to share this time with you.

Find out more about the retreat here.