Now that we commute between Florida and Anguilla, we’re very aware that it takes a little extra effort to connect with nature when you live in the suburbs. Sure, there are beautiful tree-lined streets and green backyards but that isn’t always enough.

What does nature have to do with living what you love, you might ask. To us, the answer is clear. When you spend time in a natural environment, something truly magical happens. Mother Nature soothes your spirit, sharpens your senses and in turn, inspires you to focus your thinking.

As soon as we arrived at our new home in suburban Florida, we felt an immediate need to locate nearby walking paths, streams, gardens and parks. To our delight, we’ve discovered new places to visit every week: Japanese gardens, boardwalks through the Everglades, nature trails, deserted beaches with only a few fishermen, botanical gardens, quiet ponds and lakes, farms, and bird sanctuaries.

If you need a shot of energy and inspiration, we urge you to spend some time outdoors. Even just a short time in a natural environment can have a positive impact on your well-being.

Our staff is our greatest joy

Ask almost any restaurateur to describe his or her single biggest headache, and without hesitation the most common answer will be staffing. We have a friend in the business who struggles so much that he runs frequent newspaper ads offering $500 hiring bonuses in an effort to recruit new employees. The truth is that other than management, restaurant employees are typically just passing through on their way to another job.

But at our restaurants, the good food and romance you’ll find are created not by people who trudge to work wishing they were somewhere else. Quite the opposite. The men and women who work at Blanchards and Zurra have made those restaurants their own in a very special way. They take pleasure in doing whatever it takes to make their guests happy. They seem to know, almost instinctively, one vital ingredient of living what you love: You can talk about following your dream or pursuing a passion until you’re blue in the face, but if you’re not somehow meaningfully connecting with the people in your life, it will all be for naught.

If you want to get a clearer picture of how to live what you love, start by analyzing your relationships with others. No matter what you do, creating the life you want is about relationships.  It’s about people.

Ask yourself:

• Which relationships in my life are worth repairing and which ones can I let go?
• What kinds of relationships are missing in my life?
• How much time do I spend with people who complain a lot?
• How much have I allowed other people to control my life?