🍕❤️ Pizza and Pillow Forts: A Cozy Evening Story of Love, Comfort, and Connection

0:01 Welcome to The Slow Life. I'm Jennifer Vino and I create, narrate and design the soundscape of this village of cosy stories to relax and unwind. Each week I share an original story. Read 2 times so you can relax even more during the second reading. I'm happy to announce my website, theslowlife.ca. It provides a space where we can connect and I can bring you all things cozy.

0:42 Let's settle in with some easy breathing at your own pace. With each inhale, let fresh air fill the space around your heart. With each exhale, feel the calm air spread through your body and flow out through your arms and legs, gently in through your heart. Gently out through your body, in through your heart, out through your body. And now let's begin.

1:29 This story is called Pizza and Pillow Forts, and it's about a cozy surprise, everything soft I can find, and a mourning with kittens. An idea came to me this morning while I was making my bed. Such a task is always more interesting when kittens are involved. I had swept the top sheet over the two of them, and while the air held it floating slowly down, I'd stuck my head under the temporary tent it had created for no reason other than the fun of it. I imagined building a Fort in the living room with cushions and sheets, a cozy surprise for when my love arrives home this evening.

2:29 I am empty the upstairs closet of every soft thing I can find. In preparation for the build. I move the chairs first for from the dining table, placing them in the rough shape of a circle with the big arm chair in the corner of the living room, the area rug already where it needs to be. We'll keep the chairs from sliding around. I lift a bed sheet from the pile on the Chesterfield, shake it out until it billows like a sail, and spread it across the chairs. I dig some clamps out of the junk drawer to secure it, which will be the roof of the Fort.

3:20 Three more sheets go around the outside, the edges spilling to the floor, and I smooth them out with my hands to cover any gaps in the walls. The final one is red, making it that much warmer when the lamp light shines through it from the corner. Just as I had with the sheet and the kittens this morning, I peek my head in to assess my progress. I stand back up with purpose, knowing what it needs next, thankful that boxes and bins are labeled. In the attic, I easily find a string of mini lights. They've also been wound neatly around a wooden spool, keeping the tangles to a minimum.

4:15 They flicker once when I test them, but keep their warm, steady glow. Soon enough I feed them under the sheet and crawl inside. It's fast work to hook them around the tops of the chairs, making a full circle with the long strand. I sit for a minute in awe of the instant beauty their golden colour creates. Back outside the Fort, the room looks softer too with the glow from within. Now for the floor. The rug itself makes a good soft base, but it still needs more.

5:00 I start layering as many blankets as I can find, some heavy and thick, others small and used more for their gentle pattern and soft feel. Then cushions also every kind I can find. Square ones from the couch, round ones from the window seat, a long one that fits perfectly on one whole side. I shimmy things around, pressing my palms against the fabric, shaping hollows to sit in. The shadows in the folds add a pleasing texture to the space.

5:45 By the time everything is arranged just right, the fading light through the windows reminds me that supper should be next on my list. I'd spent most of the afternoon on this project and now my stomach offers a low growl of suggestion in the kitchen. I begin to think through what I might make. Something simple, maybe soup or whatever is left in the fridge before I decide. The sound of tires on the driveway draws my attention.

6:26 Moments later, the creak of the door and the familiar sound of wiping boots on the doormat signaled the beginning of an evening together. The scent of pizza drifts in before I even see my love in the entryway. It's fitting for tonight, and the timing couldn't be more perfect. After a greeting of snuggles, I moved to the counter to take out plates, and while they settle in and change out of the day's clothes, I slice up an apple, a few carrots and some cucumber. Something crisp and light to go with the comfort food. When I glanced towards the living room, I see them pause at the edge of the Fort.

7:20 This surprise lands quietly, like the first night time snowfall. I can tell from the way they take it in the glow from within the smooth shadows of blankets and pillows that it has worked just as I'd hoped, our shoulders softening as the rest of the day falls away. Now, comfortably in pajamas, we set everything up inside the hideaway. Candles are lit and placed carefully on a tray between us, their flicker deepening and softening the folds of the blankets and sheets with each movement. We opened the pizza box, which sits beside the bowl of fruit and veggies, and the small plates look somehow elegant in this light, lying atop the layers of fabric beneath them. Music plays in the background, muffled just enough to allow our voices to stay hushed, although crescendos of laughter fill in here and there.

8:34 The evening's rhythm is slow with the sharing of food, the exchange of glances, the ease of being together in our own world for a while. My loves expression tells me the Fort with its dim light, faint scent of candles and warmth was the perfect surprise to come home to. When the last of the food is gone, we clear out the remnants and stretch out on the blanket covered floor. The many lights form constellations above us, tiny stars close enough to touch. It hadn't been the plan, but after lying here for a while, we decide to stay for the night.

9:27 The tent was a playful idea from a morning with kittens, who have since found their way in and made themselves quite comfortable. Indeed. Thinking we should do this more often, we giggle and talk long into the night. We seem to forget the rest of the hosts exists inside this nest of calm made from the simplest things, a bundle of sheets, a scattering of lights and the closeness of two people who have found, for now, the coziest corner of the world. Pizza and pillow forts.

10:20 An idea came to me this morning while I was making my bed. Such a task is always more interesting when kittens are involved. I had swept the top sheet over the two of them, and while the air held it floating slowly down, I'd stuck my head under the temporary tent it had created for no reason other than the fun of it. I imagined building a Fort in the living room with cushions and sheets, a cozy surprise for when my love arrives home this evening. I empty the upstairs closet of every soft thing I can find in preparation for the build.

11:12 I move the chairs first for from the dining table, placing them in the rough shape of a circle with the big arm chair in the corner of the living room, the area rug already where it needs to be. We'll keep the chairs from sliding around. I lift a bed sheet from the pile on the Chesterfield, shake it out until it billows like a sail, and spread it across the chairs. I dig some clamps out of the junk drawer to secure it, which will be the roof of the Fort. Three more sheets go around the outside, the edges spilling to the floor, and I smooth them out with my hands to cover any gaps in the walls.

12:08 The final one is red, making it that much warmer when the lamp light shines through it from the corner. Just as I had with this sheet and the kittens this morning, I peek my head in to assess my progress. I stand back up with purpose, knowing what it needs next, thankful that boxes and bins are labeled. In the attic, I easily find a string of mini lights. They've also been wound neatly around a wooden spool, keeping the tangles to a minimum. They flicker once when I test them, but keep their warm, steady glow.

12:54 Soon enough I feed them under the sheet and crawl inside. It's fast work to hook them around the tops of the chairs, making a full circle with the long strand. I sit for a minute in awe of the instant beauty their golden colour creates. Back outside the Fort, the room looks softer too with the glow from within. Now for the floor. The rug itself makes a good soft base, but it still needs more. I start layering as many blankets as I can find, some heavy and thick, others small and used more for their gentle pattern and soft feel.

13:48 Then cushions also every kind I can find. Square ones from the couch, round ones from the window seat, a long one that fits perfectly on one whole side. I shimmy things around, pressing my palms against the fabric, shaping hollows to sit in. The shadows in the folds add a pleasing texture to the space. By the time everything is arranged just right, the fading light through the windows reminds me that supper should be next on my list.

14:31 I'd spent most of the afternoon on this project and now my stomach offers a low growl of suggestion in the kitchen. I begin to think through what I might make. Something simple, maybe soup or whatever is left in the fridge before I decide. The sound of tires on the driveway draws my attention. Moments later, the creak of the door and the familiar sound of wiping boots on the doormat signaled the beginning of an evening together.

15:12 The scent of pizza drifts in before I even see my love in the entryway. It's fitting for tonight, and the timing couldn't be more perfect. After a greeting of snuggles, I moved to the counter to take out plates, and while they settle in and change out of the day's clothes, I slice up an apple, a few carrots and some cucumber. Something crisp and light to go with the comfort food. When I glanced towards the living room, I see them pause at the edge of the Fort. This surprise lands quietly, like the first night time snowfall.

16:00 I can tell from the way they take it in the glow from within the smooth shadows of blankets and pillows that it has worked just as I'd hoped, our shoulders softening as the rest of the day falls away. Now, comfortably in pajamas, we set everything up inside the hideaway. Candles are lit and placed carefully on a tray between us, their flicker deepening and softening the folds of the blankets and sheets with each movement. We opened the pizza box, which sits beside the bowl of fruit and veggies, and the small plates look somehow elegant in this light, lying atop the layers of fabric beneath them.

16:55 Music plays in the background, muffled just enough to allow our voices to stay hushed, although crescendos of laughter fill in here and there. The evening's rhythm is slow with the sharing of food, the exchange of glances, the ease of being together in our own world for a while. My loves expression tells me the Fort with its dim light, faint scent of candles and warmth was the perfect surprise to come home to. When the last of the food is gone, we clear out the remnants and stretch out on the blanket covered floor. The many lights form constellations above us, tiny stars close enough to touch.

17:53 It hadn't been the plan, but after lying here for a while, we decide to stay for the night. The tent was a playful idea from a morning with kittens, who have since found their way in and made themselves quite comfortable. Indeed. Thinking we should do this more often, we giggle and talk long into the night. We seem to forget the rest of the hosts exists inside this nest of calm made from the simplest things, a bundle of sheets, a scattering of lights and the closeness of two people who have found, for now, the coziest corner of the world.

18:46 I wish you sweet dreams.