Comfort. How do we find comfort in trying times and the resilience to move on? More than 6 years ago I got the news that something was wrong with my baseline mammogram.

On the Thursday before we left NOLA, I had my first ever mammogram. While riding the ‘L’ in Chicago, heading to get some yummy soup at the Soup Box, I got a call from my doctor’s office. The doctor’s assistant told me that my mammogram showed irregularities and that I needed to have another done as soon as I returned to New Orleans.  I was freaked.

The Soup Box. Rather than seeing the Soup Box as a negative, when I think back to that challenging time of my life, I think of their soup and I think comfort.

Seriously, the soup from Chicago’s Soup Box is amazingly yummy–and comforting. My favorite? Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup. It is amazing. A year or two ago, I picked up a copy of the Soup Box Cookbook for Terry and I, but neither of us had used it. After we picked up a less-than-satisfying store version of my favorite soup a couple of weeks ago, Terry and I started talking about using the cookbook. Last weekend, I finally pulled it off the shelf.

The commentary the authors give for each recipe really struck me. In particular, the description of the Creamy Chicago and Wild Rice Soup recipe:

This is the number one selling soup at both our stores. It sells two-to-one over our best stuff. It’s the embodiment of your favorite chair or blanket, like a snuggy in a bowl

So, I made it. Not bad for the first try.

Yummy…and snuggly…

And like it is advertised, it gave me comfort. And the cool thing is that I didn’t have to run up to one of their locations to get it. I was able to make that same type of comfort myself, at home.

Another item to add to JoAnn’s Self-Comfort Toolbox.

Like the comfy chaise in our front room that the dogs and I are always fighting over. The chaise that they hogged today as I binge watched “Big Little Lies” from the couch and nursed a cold or the flu.

Love that these two are included in my snuggy toolkit!