15. Bring Treats to the Neighbors

I don't remember who I was talking to, but a friend once told me that it's sad that newer homes aren't built with front porches. I didn't really get it until we moved into our house. You just don't see your neighbors! The nicest young couple who lives across the street brought us a really generous tin filled with all different Christmas cookies,... back in December. We haven't talked to them since [I'm embarrassed to say]. I tried to bring them mini-cupcakes a few months ago, but they weren't home. Then another four months passed by. Oops.

The front porch is a bridge. If I'm on my porch, you're on yours... there would at least be a wave.  Now, don't get me wrong, I like the wave. Just ask my husband. Every time a neighbor is outside and there's even a slight chance they will catch a glimpse of me, I wave like an overzealous third grader with the answer to a math problem. I want to have a friendly block!  But those opportunities are far and few between.

The porch creates a relaxed, prolonged presence in the front of the house that can give a block a sense of community. They still do in many areas of Chicago. But, not so much in the suburbia we now call home. [Disclaimer:  my grandparents had a front porch in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, and my memories from Saturday summer nights, swaying on the porch swing eating Neapolitan ice cream have created my over-romanticized concept of porches].

Our anti-socialization (porch or no porch) tendency is precisely why I put #15 on my Bound for Beauty list for this summer: bring treats to the neighbors.  (http://revealthebeauty.blogspot.com/2011/06/bound-for-beauty-summer-list.html). Even though it's easier to mind my own business, I wanted to make sure I'm investing in our life here. Pushing myself out of my comfort zone is VERY beautiful. It may be a key element to revealing beauty, actually. (Another post on that later). Before I could bring up the courage to bring the baked goods over to our neighbors, I actually had to bake something.

I made cupcakes. I used devil's food cake (Betty Crocker hooked me up), with home-made cream cheese frosting that I colored a summery green. After icing the cakes, I shaved some semi-sweet baking chocolate over the tops and added a freeze-dried strawberry to the top of each (thanks, Trader Joe's).

I have some old dishes that I refused to sell in the garage sale so that I can use them for occasions such as these! I put four cute little cupcakes on each plate and walked myself over to four houses. One family wasn't home, so I'll watch for them tomorrow. In the end, it was worth it. Who wouldn't like semi-home-made cupcakes on a Friday after work? Being neighborly is beautiful.

May you have eyes to see the beauty. --Meg Tess