Luxurys antonym is necessity...

Last week, Melissa and yours truly had planned to lavishly celebrate our seven years together at a french restaurant here in Stockholm (www.paname.se). Unfortunately, she was recovering from a cold and we decided it wasn't the best idea... Instead, I promised her I'd bring the restaurant to her. This was the result:

First Entree:
-Fois Gras with fresh, sliced ciabatta.

Second Entree:
-Chicory lettuce with wine vinegar dressing, red onion, bacon and croutons.

Main Course:
-Roast duck breast with apple puree and fried parsley potatoes.

First Dessert:
-Goat cheese with med pecan nuts and honey coulis.

Second Dessert:
-Gratinated strawberries with an Elder flower (fläder), egg and cream sauce with vanilla ice cream.

Wines:
-Château La Borne moelleux, Bordeaux Blanc 2005.
-Beaujolais-Villages, Château du Souzy 2006.


...of course, I write this to brag about the accomplishment, but it also brings up the issue of something being luxurious or not. The common perception of something fancy or, as i mentioned, luxurious, is the idea of something being expensive.




Even though they are opposites, can a necessity still be, or feel like, a luxury and vice-versa? Last weekend, we went on a picnic in the woods. We sat in the sun on the top of a cliff with a small fire, roasting low-budget (tasteless) hot dogs over fire. It felt luxurious, although dirty, cheap and incredibly low-tech. Not what most people would call princely, but I loved it!



Is it a good thing to think of romance in the same way? And is that a luxury? I see all these shows on TV about the perfect (always rich) -boyfriend, -father etc... Does that give people false, not to mention close to impossible goals? Is the perfect father really the one who buys his kids anything, anytime? And if you take your partner in a helicopter ride, is it automatically romantic? People aren't stupid, far from it, I think (or at least choose to think) most people watching these shows realise that the things they see there aren't the perfect thing, and that that helicopter ride could be the most boring experience ever under the wrong circumstances. But do these shows plant a seed in peoples head? Do you need to go expensive to show love, or friendship? Again, people aren't stupid, but you DO get flattered when receiving expensive gifts. Does it have anything to do with the fact that someone has worked several hours to earn that money? Maybe, sometimes. But it's still my firm belief that we should remind ourselves more often of how peoples small efforts mean so much more a few years later than stuff bought at an expensive cost just to save time. Just like those little things we keep somewhere in the attic, tucked away and forgotten. When we find them again, they bring back a flood of memories. I guess, tragically enough, I'm saying the MasterCard commercial is right, some things are priceless.

When i brought home and unboxed my new laptop a few weeks ago, there was a scratch on it, while I was getting worked up my friend told me it didn' t matter, that it was only a tool and not a precious jewel. He was right, and i slowly realised that. He helped me remember we should all consider how we see money, a way to achieve goals, or the goal itself....? We should all get friends like that, like MasterCard would say: "Priceless".