It seems that I’m cultivating a lot of little side projects and monthly events tailored around socializing.

One of these is a group of amazing women who meet up to discuss life, tough life questions and enjoy wonderful meals in our homes. This is called the Comfort Food Club, started by Tara Hunt and Rachel Weidinger.  I appreciate the high quality conversation, an ability to discuss industry (and non-industry doings) and to discuss food.

The next was inspired by LUPEC, and it’s LARC  – Ladies Advocating Respectable Cocktails. Many of us are fans of high quality concoctions made with premium ingredients. Everything from homemade ginger simple syrup or homemade grenadine has made it into drinks featuring everything from Creme to Violette to rum. Every month we have a featured liquor and every member is responsible for bringing a recipe to try. We report out on our successes (yes, only successes) on our group Tumblr. We had a fantastic organizational meeting, agreed on a set of ground rules and have been enjoying all sorts of deliciousness!

The final is a new book club I joined, started this year by Corey Denis. Our group name is SpaceMonkeyLit and you can follow along with what we’re reading each month on Twitter.

What’s interesting about each of these is that each one established its own ground rules for success. Each one has a unique personality and adds to my life in a different way and draws on different people to enhance the things I’m interested in learning more about on a daily basis. For example, while I’ve always been a fan of cocktails, I’ve been learning a lot about the art of mixology as well as the science and history behind the hooch. Comfort Food Club has broadened my food horizons and ways of thinking about food, as well as made me re-think a lot of life’s big questions. Finally, SpaceMonkeyLit has exposed me to new ways of thinking of books I both love and hate.

Ultimately though, these all are centered around my most important life project: people! Familiarizing myself with new friends, getting to know old friends with a new lens, and learning how everyone reacts to specific filters (food, cocktails, books) enhances my own life.