I’ve been thinking about this Halloween post for a few days, but it all came together in my yoga class this morning. At the very end of class during savasana, our instructor delivered a little admonition about chocolate. It wasn’t what you might think.

Instead of cautioning us that eating too much candy would expand our waistline or disrupt our energy, she asked us instead to remember what a pleasure trick-or-treating was as a child. She reminded us of how exhilarating it was to be holding all that chocolate in our plastic pumpkin. It was like winning the lottery. She asked us to rekindle that feeling tonight. To let chocolate be chocolate in all it’s, well, chocolateyness I guess.

For many of us, Halloween isn’t fun anymore. It’s a month-long-guilt-ridden torment because we have unprecedented access to treats and little willpower to resist. We indulge, we feel guilty, we repent, we repeat.

What if just for tonight, instead of loading up that candy wrapper with the added heavy burden of negative self-talk and shame, we just let chocolate be chocolate and enjoyed it? Don’t count the calories or the carbs or the miles you’ll run as penance…just have a little chocolate and move on to November with grace.

It’ll be okay. I promise.

Why do the displays at Gymboree always look so ridiculously good? They make me want to buy everything in the store to recreate those looks for my kids. This week, I popped in to return something and found myself gazing longingly at yet another adorable ready made outfit hanging on the wall…and then it hit me!

The reason the Gymboree displays always look SO AMAZING is that they always add that one more element to the outfit that completes it! The extra button-down over the t-shirt and under the sweater. The scarf tied adorably around the sweater and under the corduroy blazer. The visible chunky belt over the long sweater over the patterned leggings.

It’s not complicated, really…but it takes a little extra effort to pull it off in your child’s everyday wardrobe.

Cooking is like that. Taking a moment to taste the dish you’re making and to add one more layer of flavor can elevate it from everyday to amazing. A sprinkle of fresh herbs. A swirl of butter into the sauce just before serving. A splash of vinegar. Minced shallots. A flurry of parmesan. These layers of flavor are what great cooks instinctively understand instinctively. Food prepared by a great cook has depth, and while you might not be able to name the extra ingredient, you will notice it because it’s what makes the dish feel finished.

Give it a whirl. Taste your dinner tonight before you serve it – ignore the fact that the recipe says you’re finished – and see if you can discern what extra element would make it amazing. You may surprise yourself and discover you’re already a great cook! You just needed the license to strut your stuff.