I Did It!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, do you know what day it is?  If you said "March 31st", you're half right.  It's also the day of my 31st post for the month of March!!! That's right, I actually followed through with something.  This is a major breakthrough, as it hasn't happened in almost two years (around the time my life took a gigantic nosedive).  I have a sneaking suspicion this is a sign of better things to come.  If I believe it, it will happen, right?  

I am officially in love with this photo by Debi Treloar.  It makes me feel warm and optimistic.  Happy spring, everyone!

Why I Love Yoga

It always borders on awkward when I have a conversation with someone who's never tried yoga, and get to gushing about how life changing it is.  It's difficult to put into words how anxiety and tension seem to melt away when you're in a forward fold or hip opening pose, or how arriving at and maintaining your edge in a challenging pose can bring moments of clarity and perspective regarding emotions you never even knew you had.  

Not to mention the physical benefits.  I'd been chained to the gym for about ten years.  Literally - other than when I was on vacation somewhere, I don't think a single week went by where I didn't hit the gym at least three times.  Christmas Eve?  I was there.  Wedding day?  I think I did a body pump class in the morning.  Transit-crippling snow storm?  I had only gone two times that week and it was Sunday;  I was thus forced to use our condo's crappy gym.  It turned into an addiction - a healthy addiction, but an addiction none the less.  I still go to the gym sometimes, but only when I truly feel like it (which is actually a lot more often than I could ever have imagined when I was going solely to avoid guilt).  

Yoga, particularly the power variety, yields many of the same physical benefits as regular exercise, without taking a toll on your joints and muscles.  If fact, I actually prefer how my body looks since I became a regular at the yoga studio.  I still have muscle tone, but it's leaner and longer than before (I build muscle easily, but bulging biceps and thighs on a woman simply aren't my idea of attractive).  

Best of all, I find regular yoga practice makes you want to live healthier.  My consumption of alcohol has decreased substantially because, well, a glass of wine would sort of kill the life-affirming high I get from a yoga class.  The same goes for eating unhealthy foods, and giving into unhealthy dietary compulsions (e.g. eating for comfort, snacking out of sheer habit).  After a gym session, I always felt "entitled" to eat more; now I see that feeling entitled is not a good reason to eat, let alone an effective way to generate any real enjoyment from the food you're eating. 

I guess this post has gone on a little longer than I intended.  Anyway, I strongly recommend you try yoga.  Remember how it felt to be really, truly excited about something as a kid?  Like, a "we're going to Disney World tomorrow" level of excitement?  It's kind of like that.

Design Intervention

I've spent the entire day intending to post but being distracted by my new fascination with design blogs.  Three of my favourite images are posted below, all of which were found on Design Sponge.

I love all the natural light and serene charm.  And the bike, of course (geeze, what is it with me and bikes lately?)  Anyway, I hope they make you as happy as they make me.

Culinary Experimentations

Today was a positively beautiful day.  I woke up to a clear, migraine-free head, and decided to go for a run.  Admittedly, such strenuous exercise was a bit premature, but with the help of some extra strength Advil I managed to make it through the rest of the day.  Steve and I headed downtown and had a delectable lunch at Chien Noir.  We then wandered around for a bit, hitting up all our favourite shops and savouring the warm sunshine.  All this meant that we arrived home a little too late to prepare the easy, leisurely dinner party we had been hoping for.  A cobb salad and onion soup seemed like the perfect combination (it's soup and salad, how hard can it possibly be???)

Apparently, pretty hard.  Or at least time consuming.

So time consuming, in fact, that 7:30 came and we hadn't even started making the soup.  If we were in Europe, that wouldn't have seemed so weird.  But since we're in North America, most guests expect that the very latest time you can possible eat supper is eight o'clock.  Thus we ended up scrapping the soup idea, and throwing together some quick bruschetta to go with the salad instead.  

As it turned out, the cobb salad was more than enough by itself.  It's substantial salad, full of protein, and everyone was full by the end of the meal.  Here's the recipe, taken from our Williams Sonoma cookbook.  

For dessert, I made Madeleines (Martha Stewart's recipe).  Again, I apologize for the amateur photos.

Cobb Salad:

Ingredients:

3 hard boiled eggs 2 avocados, peeled & diced

8 slices bacon 2 tomatoes, chopped

1 head romain 1/4 lb + 1 oz crumbled Roquefort cheese

2 tbsps minced flat-leaf parsley 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tbsps minced fresh chives 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 cups watercress 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

4 cups diced turkey or chicken 1 clove garlic, minced

S&P

1/3 cup EVOO

Cook chicken and bacon.

Make bed of lettuce in shallow bowl.  Mix parsley and chives.  Arrange eggs, bacon, herbs, watercress, turkey, avocados, tomatoes, and 1/4 lb cheese in pattern atop bed of romaine.

Whisk together vinegar, Worst. sauce, mustard, garlic, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper.  Mash in remaining 1 oz cheese.  Slowly drizzle in oil to form thick dressing.

Pour dressing over salad.

Madeleines:

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1 stick butter (melted & cooled)

Beat eggs, salt, and sugar until thick (about 8 minutes).  Add vanilla.  Fold in flour.  Fold in butter.  Spoon mixture into madeleine pans.  Bake at 350 until golden, about 10 minutes.  Cool on racks.  Dust with powered sugar if desired.

From Audrey to Audrey

Hepburn to Tautou, that is.  

I'm currently mid migraine, and in no condition to write a long, well thought out post.  

I thought this picture was appropriate, however, given my Monday morning photo of Holly Golightly.  It epitomizes how I feel most Friday nights before drifting off to sleep:

Stunned with disbelief about the fact that part of the weekend (arguably the best part) is already over with.  Hopeful that the next two days will be filled with fun, relaxation, and productivity.  (Wait, aren't those things a little contradictory?)...

Let The Countdown Begin

Did you read Where The Wild Things Are as a kid?

Of course you did!  It's a total classic!  The film version, which looks positively beautiful, comes out in October.  You can view the trailer here.

That Is Not What I Meant, At All

Alright Alright Alright.  I officially suffer from blog title commitment phobia.  But I have a really, really good reason, I promise.  I wasn't totally satisfied with "Lofty Thoughts" because, well, most of my thoughts just aren't that lofty, even on an ironic level.  Although the title aptly described my writing space, I felt the need for something slightly more well rounded.  I took the phrase"magic lantern" from the T.S. Eliot poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Proofrock".  Not only is it one of my favourite poems of all time, but I feel a personal connection to the context in which the phrase was written.  As the poem suggests, "magic lantern" is also an old fashioned term for a film projector.  As a good percentage of my posts are about movies, I feel this title is more than appropriate.  Look for a corresponding change in URL coming soon, as well as a new background picture.  I will leave you with the stanza from "Proofrock" which contains the magic lantern:

And would it have been worth it, after all,

Would it have been worth while,

After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,

After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor --

And this, and so much more? --

It is impossible to say just what I mean!

But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:

Would it have been worth while

If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,

And turning toward the window, should say:

"That is not it at all,

 That is not what I meant, at all."

   

Review: Asha Sushi

Today saw a major gastronomic breakthrough for yours truly.  You see, about five years ago I tried sushi for the first time from one of those mall places and hated it.  I remember it being cold, rubbery, and WAY too spicy (I think I over-loaded it with wasabi or something).  I must admit I was disappointed by my reaction to it more than anything - after all, don't all the cool girls like sushi?  Why oh why was I so incapable of appearing cool in any way shape or form?  

Then last year I decided to give it another try, this time for slightly less superficial reasons.  I had by this point officially "discovered" the wonders of good food, and wanted to be able to enjoy as many different kinds of it as possible.  For some reason, I went back to the same mall chain at which I had the negative experience five years ago.  This time I made sure to go easy on the wasabi, and was happily able to finish my meal.  I did not, however, see what the big deal was.  Rice, raw fish, and some cold vegetables?  Whatever.

Yet some nagging instinct inside me seemed to know that this colourful, exotic dish had potential, and whenever I heard anyone talk about sushi (notably almost always pretty twenty-something women) my curiosity was further heightened:  I began to wonder what real sushi (i.e. that which is prepared fresh at a restaurant) tasted like.  This curiosity inspired me to suggest Asha Sushi when Steve and I found ourselves downtown at supper time earlier today.  

Asha Sushi is a funky, bamboo-adorned, paper-lantern-lit space, filled with tables of attractive young women on girls nights and a few trendy, earthy-looking couples on dates.  For pretentious purposes, we'll pretend Steve and I fell into the second category.  The restaurant features an all you can eat sushi buffet, which we opted out of (I'm not a fan of buffets unless they're serving a gourmet brunch) in favour of the regular menu.  I had no idea what to order, and ended up asking the waitress what she would recommend.  She rhymed off her favourites, and both of us ended up taking her advice.  I had the Avo Avo (sushi filled with crab salad, topped with avocado), and Steve the French Kiss (crispy shrimp, salmon, and cream cheese drizzled with a yogurt and mustard sauce).

To make an already too long story slightly shorter, I loved it.  Steve loved it.  Everyone was satisfied.  The flavours came together brilliantly in both dishes, and my growing love for the unique taste and creamy texture of avocados was further cemented.  Both rolls were slightly crunchy, which I also loved.  The only drawback was my famous inability to maneuver chop sticks.  Don't worry, I didn't ask for a knife and fork - but it did take me nearly twice as long as it should have to finish.  Oh well, I plan on eating quite a lot of sushi now that I know how wonderful it can be, so there should be more than enough time to practice.  And best of all, I get to pretend I'm cool.  Unless developing an appreciation for sushi does in itself permit entry to the world of cool people...now there's a thought...

I Want to Ride My Bicycle, I Want to Ride My Bike

I love cute bikes like this one (found here).  I'm not sure if I can wait much longer to get out my own for the season....as soon as those g.d. wintry winds stop whipping around sneaky corners...

Happy Monday Morning

Ugh...let me go back to bed please...

Maybe I'll change my last name to Golightly.  

Or just watch Breakfast at Tiffany's if I somehow survive the work day and make it home tonight.

Or maybe I'll finally manage to mould mind numbing boredom into some sort of alternate reality.  Yeah, that's what I'll do.

White Chocolate + Vanilla Bean + Cupcakes + Cadbury Mini eggs = Heaven

Oh Sunday evenings.  I try not to hate you, but alas that's easier said than done.  Granted, after a weekend as inspiring and fun-filled as the one that's almost come to pass, I'm almost excited for the work week that now stretches ahead.  A diverse variety of kitchen adventures permeated this delightful weekend, the most successful of which proved to be the white chocolate and vanilla bean cupcakes I made for our family supper.  Here's the recipe, along with the depressingly amateur photo I took of them :P

Ingredients:  (10-12 cupcakes)

Cupcakes:

1 cup vanilla soy milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2  teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup canola oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 ounces white chocolate

1/2 vanilla bean, seeded

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter (give or take)

2-3 cups icing sugar (g or t)

2 tablespoons vanilla soy milk (g or t)

1/2 vanilla bean, seeded

6 ounces white chocolate

Directions:

Sift together dry ingredients.  

Add oil and soy milk, stir until just combined.

Gently melt white chocolate in a double boiler.  Add 1/2 vanilla bean.  Add chocolate to batter, stir until incorporated.

Pour equal amounts into muffin tray.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, give or take (do the toothpick insert-y thing to tell when they're done).  

Frosting Directions:

Beat butter until fluffy. 

Gradually add icing sugar and soy milk until creamy.

Melt white chocolate, add 1/2 vanilla bean.  Beat this into the rest of the icing.

Adjust ingredients until desired texture is achieved.

Apply a generous amount of icing to cupcakes once they have cooled completely.

Decorate them however you want.  I was feeling springy, and decided to use some of the mini eggs from the ginormous package I bought in a moment of weakness a couple weeks ago.  

Oh my, are these ever good.  I strongly advise you to try them.

Springtime in the City

I found this picture here.  Doesn't it make you want to saunter down 5th Avenue in stilettos and a vibrantly coloured sun dress?  Oh I adore the spring, even if it doesn't feel very springlike outside at the moment.  I agree with Chaucer and T.S. Eliot that April is the cruelest month, and we're almost there now.  The wonderful thing about March is you can still remember what -20 feels like, so anything above zero is welcomed with open arms.  April's climate is not all that different from its predecessor's, but expectations have changed dramatically.

Review: I Love You Man

It had been a long time since I'd been to a movie theatre, but I heard some good reviews of I Love You Man and Steve had been waiting for it to come out for a long time, so we figured it was a good option for tonight.  A self-proclaimed "bromance", the movie tells of a romantically savvy yet socially hopeless man (Paul Rudd) who realizes shortly before his wedding that there is no one in his life whom he can ask to be his best man.  I Love You Man takes the "bros before hos" philosophy made popular in Judd Apatow's films to the next level, yielding an effective parody of the traditional romantic comedy:  like the hero of a romance searches for love, Peter (Rudd's character) must search for a friend.  After several awkward attempts at friendship, he finds Sidney (Jason Segal).  The two hit it off, and appropriately twisted versions of the usual romantic comedy plot hiccups play out in a predictable manner. 

On a serious note, I appreciate the public acknowledgement of the idea that sometimes it's a whole lot easier to maintain a romantic relationship than it is to be comfortable with platonic companions.  It's not really a "cool" trait possess, yet I often suspect there are a lot people who feel certain degrees of social anxiety they're not likely to admit to, even to themselves.

There is very little about this movie that is serious, however.  The absolute funniest thing about it, in my opinion, is the ongoing Rush theme.  I spent most of my life changing the radio station as quickly as possible whenever Rush came on, yet lately have come to realize how fabulous their music really is.  Seriously.  Listen to Geddy Lee's voice and the lyrics it somehow manages to screech out; really listen for a minute or two and tell me it's not the funniest sound you've ever heard in your life.  The movie does an awesome job of mocking it in a tasteful (but not TOO tasteful) way.  I was literally on the floor laughing.

There's No Place Like Home

Is there anything better than falling onto a soft bed at the end of a hard day?  Possibly a soft bed that you fall onto wearing Dorothy-inspired shoes.  At the end of a hard day.  They suggest one will meet with comfort and happiness upon awakening.  And that's always a nice thought. Almost, you might say, a self-fulfilling prophecy.

This photo is brought to you by the cherry blossom girl.

I Love Steve

My husband made the most tasty supper tonight:  Talapia marinated in some sort of lemony sauce with saffron risotto and a tomato and avocado salad.  Nothing special, he said, but it was special to me.  I'd post the recipe but I don't think one exists (I'd advise simply improvising using the general ingredients referenced above).  I'd also post a picture, but the meal was so unexpected I didn't have time to look for the camera.  Instead, I'll post my favourite picture of us.  I love you dahling!

Warm Summer Breezes

Both of these images came from here.

I like them because they remind me of warm summer breezes and lazy afternoons at the cottage.  Plus, I adore the dresses on the clothes line.  I wish I could absorb and permanently maintain the way these photos make me feel.  Or at least temporarily recall it when at work.

Review: Something Borrowed

I read Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin extremely quickly.  It's the most addictive sort of book, filled with easy-to-relate-to characters in easy-to-relate-to situations.  I have never had an affair with my best friend's fiance, but now know all about what it's like to be torn between true love and your moral conscience/ life-long best friend.  It's not a nice feeling, yet somehow I suspect that if I were living in Manhattan and working as a hot shot lawyer, nothing else would really matter anyway.  I suppose that's why books like this one exist.  I don't really have a whole lot to say about this book.  I liked it fine, but it's more of an enjoy it while you're reading it sort of novel.  It's not half as annoying as the Shopaholic series, but I still found myself angry about what perfect lives the characters lead.  It's like having an entire freezer full of Triple Chocolate Chunk and whining about how all the Cherry Garcia (which of course you have craving for at the moment) is miles away at your beach house in the Hamptons.

Blah...give me an effing break.

Review: Dan In Real Life

I may have mentioned in an earlier post that Steve and I went on several movie buying binges over the past month.  In addition to tried, tested, and true favourites like Taxi Driver, Rachel Getting Married, and Vicky Christina Barcelona, we also took a walk on the wild side and purchased several movies we had never seen before.  Dan In Real Life was one such movie.

This movie is a true to form romantic comedy, which I must admit kind of surprised me.  For some reason (i.e. because Steve picked it out), I was expecting some sort of pseudo-intellectual sociopolitical commentary.  Dan (Steve Carell) plays a widowed single father of three girls, who falls in love with his brother's girlfriend Marie (Juliette Binoche) at a family reunion.  In addition, Dan must deal with the usual parenting issues.  He strives to set a good example for his kids without being hypocritical, and struggles over surrendering an certain amount of independence to his teenage daughters (the irony, of course, is that the title of the film shares its name with Dan's soon-to-be-syndicated newspaper column about parenting).  A sequence of awkwardly heart-warming events ensues, as Dan and Marie try to figure out what they are going to do about their feelings for each other.  The plot is entirely predictable, but in a nice way; it's the sort if movie that reminds me why I like movies so much in the first place. Sometimes it's nice when plots just work out the way you want them to.

 Dan In Real Life also has a few absolutely hilarious moments.  Steve Carell, of course, is always funny, as is Dane Cook, who plays Dan's brother Mitch.  One scene involving a song about a woman with a "pig face" comes to mine, but you kinda have to watch it to understand why it's funny, so I won't bother getting into the details.

All in all, I'd say this is good movie.  Not great, but it knows what it is and successfully achieves what it sets out to do.  Watch it on a rainy Tuesday evening with a glass of Pinot and it'll cheer ya right up.

I Apologize

...to...myself I guess.  What do you care if I allowed three entry-less days to pass?

Sigh... yes I know, I haven't been a very loyal blogger this weekend.  I have been, however, a devout watcher of plays and films, an insatiable reader of books, and a ravenous eater of good food.  I promise to share with you all of my weekend adventures upon my return home from work this evening.

Wow!!! A TV Show I Actually Really Like!!!

I very rarely watch anything on TV other than The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and the odd sporting event.  Lately, however, I find myself watching the show 30 Rock semi-regularly.  I nearly killed myself laughing tonight when Tina dressed up like Princess Laya and, armed with several '80's Playgirls, argued she was unfit for jury duty due to the fact that she's a hologram.  Plus, Steve and I have this ironic fascination with Alec Baldwin.  Watching him make fun of himself on the show is simply priceless.

Ugh...I'm too tired to write any more.  But it's a happy, sleepy kind of tired.  

Anyway, I strongly recommend you check out the show.  

Mooooo

These beautiful images were taken by La Tartine Gourmande, one of my latest web obsessions.  They make me yearn for spring and temperatures that are actually hospitable to plant and animal life.  I also yearn for dairy, on this the fourth day of the detox.  Boo on winter!!!  Yay for spring, flowers, cows, and pots de creme!!!  

March 10th At Last

It's March 10th.  The long awaited release date for Rachel Getting Married, of which I am now the proud owner.  I watched it tonight when I should have been doing more productive things.  Oh well.  I was also surprised and thrilled to see the Olivier Lear on the shelf at Blockbuster. King Lear is my absolute favourite Shakespeare, and that particular movie reminds me of high school drama. I simply couldn't not buy it.  Alas, there was not time to watch it tonight.  But I'm confident it will prove useful for procrastination purposes tomorrow night.

I Can't Believe I'm Still Doing This

Well, it's day 2 of the detox and I'm still going strong.  Subsisting solely on fruit, vegetables, and rice products (with the odd serving of chicken, fish, and nuts) is actually quite a bit easier than I thought it would be.  The hardest part without question is giving up caffeine.  I'm used to drinking upwards of five caffeinated beverages per day, and never really thought too much about how addicted I am to them.  Going cold turkey is extremely difficult, and I've been battling a headache all day.  This morning was especially torturous due to daylight savings time.  

...All right I'll come clean:  I did allow myself to have one small cup of black coffee at lunch.  But it was either that or be entirely non-functional at work.  Tomorrow I will try to refrain.

Why I Love Lost In Translation

Lost In Translation has been one of my favourite movies since it was released in 2003, but only recently have I been able to relate to it on a personal level.  I put it on today because I was in need of some comfort, and found that what I used to find comforting about the movie (the witty dialogue, likable characters, beautiful shots of Japan, Scarlett, etc...) is now accompanied by an almost unbearable sense familiarity.  No, I'm not lusting after my aging film star friend.  And no, Steve is not working as a professional photographer and allowing me to accompany him on business trips to exotic locations (I wish).  

But the movie captures perfectly the anxiety brought on by not knowing what's next.  As a student, there was always something concrete to work toward:  a paper, presentation, or exam, and ultimately a degree.  Now, stuck between university and a career that is in any way related to what I studied, it often does seem like everyone around me is speaking Japanese.  I feel like my skills could be of some small use to the world, but have no way of getting my message across.  The transition from studenthood to gainfully employed adulthood really is like learning to speak another language - the language of pseudo-confidence, uncompromising facts, and deeply entrenched opinions.  By contrast, students are taught to question everything and seek out what interests them.  In the work world, no one gives a rat's ass what interests you; there's work to be done and you'd better damn well do it quickly and accurately.  Like Charlotte in the movie, I feel like I'm still trying to figure out what sort of career would interest me, but anything I can think of seems so impractical and/or unlikely.  

Popular opinion dictates that commitment anxiety is reserved for relationships and marriage; yet getting married was easy for me compared to this.  Fear of failing combined with fear of wasting my life away never trying because of my fear of failing is immobilizing.  Sigh... great movies can be so self-illuminating.

By the way, day one of the detox was a semi-success.  I probably snacked on fruit a little more than you're supposed to, but hey, it's fruit.

Day 1

It's eleven o'clock on day one of the detox, and I'm still going strong.  Good sign!

It's such a beautiful, sunny morning it's easy to want to be healthy and expel all the toxins from my body....

Quest for Detoxification

I have been obsessed with the idea of detoxing for quite some time now.  Now that I'm in my mid twenties, I've begun to notice the extent to which my mood, energy level, etc are affected by what I put into my body.  I cannot, for instance, eat a big plate of pasta, accompanied by several glasses of wine and followed by a rich dessert, without paying for it with my sense of well being the next day.  I become bloated, miserable, and cranky, and have come to realize that 90 per cent of the time it's simply not worth it.  Conversely, few things make me feel as vigorous, light, and free as several days of healthy eating in a row.  As a result, I'm somewhat curious to find out how I would respond to a detox cleanse.  I've tried to go on several extremely restrictive cleanses in the past.  None of these attempts were successful.  I lasted a grand total of ten hours on the famous Master Cleanse  (I guess it never occurred to me that subsisting on lemonade and and salt water for ten days in the middle of a Canadian winter is nearly as impossible as it is reckless). 

 Anyway, I've been eying a cleanse I came across on Gwyneth Paltrow's website several months ago (yes I KNOW I'm obsessed with Gwyneth...), in which you actually get to eat semi-normal food.  Basically, you avoid all dairy, grains with gluten, red meat, shellfish, anything processed, fatty nuts, nightshades, condiments, sugar, alcohol, and caffeine.  Ok, so maybe it's a little on the restrictive side.  But Gwyneth provides plenty of recipes exhibiting the many tasty combinations that can be made with the food you can eat.  I'm going to admit straight out that staying on this thing for the required seven days is probably not an option for me (I love food too much.  It's one of my main reasons for getting up in the morning).  I'd say five days (Sunday-Thursday) is a more realistic goal. 

Oh my poor reader, you're probably wondering why I'm boring you with all this tedious dietary information.  My reason is this:  If I think that hypothetical readers know about my detox attempt, I'm far more likely to stick to it because I will feel constantly monitored.  I have no idea how many people actually read this blog, but like I've said in the past, the mere idea of readers gives me hope on multiple levels.  I'll check in periodically and let you know how I'm doing; I hope - no, I know - I'll have good news to report.

Five More Days...

Until Rachel Getting Married is released on DVD.

Review: Studio 330

Over the past year and a half or so, yoga has become a huge part of my life.  I *try* to practice every day, and when I'm not reading, writing, eating, or at work, I'm usually doing yoga.  Recently one of the best instructors from my usual studio, Dallas, left to open her own yoga space called Studio 330.  Partly because I was curious, and partly because I missed Dallas' Sunday evening peace class so much that my sleep patterns were severely affected, I decided to purchase a week trial at the new studio. 

The first thing I noticed about Studio 330 was how beautiful it is.  The building is typical of those in downtown Kingston - classically charming with high ceilings and plenty of natural light.  The walls are painted a deep, earthy shade of orange, except for one focal wall of gorgeous exposed limestone.  The floors are old-style hardwood, and creek underfoot in an aesthetically pleasing way.  Candles flicker throughout the space, producing a calming, peaceful aura.  The studio's atmosphere is especially pleasing at night when lit by only the candles and several dim lamps.  Studio 330 is also equipped with showers and a cozy sitting room in which yogis can store their belongings and socialize before classes.  The instructors are extremely friendly and approachable.  It's clear that they make an effort to get to know their students and call them by name, which makes for a very welcoming, comfortable environment.

Alas I am incurably sensitive to cold, and one of the things I love most about practicing yoga is the opportunity to spend an hour and a half in a 102 degree F room.  Sadly, Studio 330 does not offer hot yoga, and I was even a little cold during Sunday's class.  This was not helped by the fact that the door to outside is in the actual studio itself (there's not really a lobby area) which means every time someone opens the door, cold air gusts in.  Granted, I did pick one of the coldest weeks of the year to purchase my trial.

Overall, however, my experiences at Studio 330 have been very positive.  I would certainly recommend it to anyone, particularly people (and I know there are a lot of you out there) who are as sensitive to the heat as I am to the cold. 

Thank You, Jonas Brothers

Two months ago I didn't know who the Jonas Brothers were.  Then they appeared in Times Square on New Years Eve, looking all smug beside Ryan Seacreast.

"Who are those boys?"  said I to Steve.

"The Jonas Brothers".

"The Jonas Brother?  They don't look old enough to have directed Academy Award winning movies."

"That's the Cohen brothers."

"Oh, ok.  Then who are the Jonas Brothers?"

"I don't know.  Some singing group for kids or something."

I didn't really think too much about the Jonas Brothers until they were featured as musical guests on SNL a couple weeks ago.  It was then that I found out they have made chastity vows (symbolized by purity rings, no less).  They have also sworn to abstain from alcohol and drugs.  (Oh to be able to see five years into the future for a good laugh).  Suddenly, I became curious to hear their music, and made a point to stay up and watch the first performance.  A few days ago I heard another one of their songs, which confirmed the initial reaction I had doubted for the magnitude of its zeal.  

I am commonly accused of being a music snob, a label I resist because it's simply not true.  I literally listen to and enjoy everything from classic rock to nineties dance; Neil Diamond to Kanye West; Louis Armstrong to Patsy Cline.  It's just that I never paid a lot of attention to mainstream  music growing up.  I had my own 'musical phases', dictated by how I was feeling at a given period of my life as opposed to what the kids around me were listening to.  Thus I came to be a music snob.  I did, however, listen to Top 40 tunes enough to know who the Backstreet Boys were, and that I disapproved of their music ("our parents got The Beatles and THIS is what we get???  I KNEW I was born into the wrong generation!!!").

In light of all that, I'd like to say this:

Thank you, Jonas Brothers, for making The Backstreet Boys sound like The Beatles.  You make me feel a thousand times better about my generation.  Call me when those purity rings start burning your fingers.  Actually don't, I'm married.  And I think that might be illegal for at least one of you. 

Dress Squeal Moment

I adore Michelle Obama.  She embodies that rare mixture of intelligence, beauty, and down-to-earth-ness that I and so many others strive in vain to achieve.  Her official white house photo dress epitomizes why I also adore her sense of style.  It's simple in the best sort of way:  classic, elegant, and flattering.  Yet also cutting-edge, as she's the first first lady to wear a sleeveless dress in the portrait.    Ahhh, simply perfection.

Hooray For March!

I've always been a fan of March.  The month itself is relatively uneventful, yet I take great comfort in the notion that, with each passing day, spring becomes more of a reality.  This morning when I let Stella out there were birds chirping in a nearby tree, and the sun was already high in the sky at 7:30.  Thus even though it's currently something like -15 degrees C with a -22 windchill, the dream of the semi-bearable temperatures to come has the ability to keep my spirits lifted.  

I'm hoping that such elevated spirits will inspire me to exercise the "sticktoitiveness" that will allow me to break free from winter blahs and their accompanying bad habits and destructive attitudes.  One of my resolutions is to produce 31 posts for the 31 days of March.  Lately I find myself obsessed with beautiful things (design, colour, photography, fashion, etc), and will thus be sharing with you some of my favourite flickr/web finds in addition to the usual book, movie, and food reviews.  By the way, if I do not manage to produce anything close to 31 posts, you have the right to think badly of me (I too will be quite disgusted with myself).

Anyway, I fell in love with the above image by Rachel Whiting because of the spring-like colours, and because my bike is in it.  Not my literal bike, of course, but mine looks exactly like that!  I can't wait to be able to ride it again!