Candyland

I recently popped into Dylan’s Candy Bar to pick up a few Halloween treats. We most likely won't have any trick-or-treaters, but we have got to get into the holiday spirit! I’m opting not to dress up as a promiscuous anything this year. But I am filling the apartment with pumpkin muffins and sweets. So really I’m going as “domestic goddess.” Some pics...

Mini chocolate pumpkins:

Our Reese's Pieces Halloween stash, JUST IN CASE some kid makes his way up to the 5^th floor of our mostly young-professionals Gramercy apartment building:

The gumball bathtub at Dylan’s Candy Bar (I couldn’t bring it home, but I want to share it with you… I mean, how awesome?!):

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P.S. Doesn’t Halloween make you think of Mean Girls?

Watch this hilarious Mean Girls/Halloween clip.

P.P.S. Need a holiday gift to bring along to a Halloween or Thanksgiving celebration? Shop at Dylan’s Candy Bar! Oh the selection… Like a kid in a candy shop….

Spot on

The Fashion Spot is a self-described “Fashion-centric online community that covers designers, photographers, models, fashion careers, and trend spotting.”

So it’s no surprise that The Fashion Spot recently covered fashion trends in yoga-wear. Now that yoga has become Americanized and, well, fashionable, it’s only natural that fashion trends are emerging from the mat.

Julie Bensman, my good friend and Editor-at-Large of The Fashion Spot (she also reigns as Entertainment Editor for Niche Media) recently reported on looking "Downright Chic in Downward Dog” and she turned to yours truly for yoga expert info. Of course I recommend you read this article.

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P.S. I love Bensman’s top picks, especially the Jade Pink Mat (proceeds go to a breast cancer charity).

Here are a few of my favorite yogi pieces:

Lululemon Wunder Under Crop Pants

These leggings are comfortable, flattering and practical for yoga. Period.

Hanes Mens Tagless Tanks

Yes I wear (small) mens tanks for yoga. They’re just fitted enough and supremely comfy (they’re tagless after all!) And they’re 5 for just $18.50…      

Lululemon No-Brainer Mat Strap

This was given to me as a gift, and it is the gift that keeps on giving! Prior to using this mat strap I was that girl on the sidewalk, on the subway, in the restaurant, awkwardly holding an always-unraveling, obtrusive mat. 

The One

A couple of years ago my boyfriend and I stumbled upon One Girl Cookies in Brooklyn. We were strolling around The Heights and One Girl Cookies had the cutest storefront sign. And we’re very receptive to anything “cookies.” But we actually ended up getting these delicious looking whoopie pies instead. They’re described as a mix between cookie and cake. And these little hamburger-looking sweets are scrumptious! Our go-to flavor is pumpkin, perfect for fall. One Girl Cookies (dangerously) delivers all over. I’ve given whoopie pies as gifts and the recipients have always been delighted.

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P.S. Check out the heart-warming story behind One Girl Cookies.

image via onegirlcookies.com 

Street fighter

Yesterday a middle-aged man accosted me on the street. He wasn’t homeless. In fact he wore an L.L. Bean backpack, a pair of eyeglasses, and a relatively put-together outfit. He was, however, losing his shit. Excuse my language, but he was in a bad place. Literally and figuratively. He didn’t have an umbrella and he was somehow managing to text while walking in the windstorm. Let me remind you about the torrential downpour + winds yesterday in NYC: I was nearly lifted into the air like Mary Poppins! And my dinky H&M “fashion” umbrella got so twisted and useless I had to put it to rest in the sidewalk garbage can, all while being rained on and yelled at. In the middle of a near-tornado.

I had passed the mean man on the sidewalk. He was going west and I was going east. And boy was he the Wicked Witch of the West! I’m still not sure why, but he didn’t approve of my walking on his right side (AKA WRONG side). After passing him, he roared, “I MEAN YOU COULD’VE WALKED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF ME!!!!!” What the H E double L does that mean? Was he not an ambi-turner? Why would it matter? We were both walking straight! Me, straight to the garbage can i.e. resting place of my poor umbrella; he to the loony bin? I was so taken aback all I could say was “whoa.”

As I walked home in the pouring, windy rain with no umbrella I felt kind of hurt. (I get sensitive when someone yells at me!) But then I just felt sad for him. What could’ve possibly spurred him to rage at me in the middle of the street? Did someone just break up with him over text? I hadn’t engaged his temper tantrum. I wouldn’t have even known how to respond… “You got up on the wrong side of the bed mister!!! I don’t care which side I pass you on! Mean, mean man!” Ultimately I just felt compassion for him. I don’t excuse his behavior toward me. But I do sincerely hope he finds happiness and doesn’t act like such an a-hole going forward. I hope he was walking west to a yoga class.

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P.S. Joanna Goddard (God love her!) of A Cup of Jo just posted this article as her first pick for an “Articles Club” she’s starting. Get it? Like a Book Club. I think it’s genius! The article is essentially about finding, and maintaining, one’s happiness. It’s also about a broken marriage, and one woman’s unique approach to fixing it. One tip: don’t acknowledge another person’s (your partner’s, your kid’s, your passerby’s) temper tantrum…

The City

My Grandma Elly lived in New York City her whole adult life. She used to say, “When you walk out your door, you’re somewhere.” She didn’t have to travel far to get to her favorite restaurants, shows and shops. And she thrived in the city that doesn’t sleep. She was a night owl, not a morning person (just like me!) I too love NYC, but there are moments when I crave space and suburbia. And unlike Elly, her son (AKA my Dad) hates Manhattan. ("There’s too much traffic and not enough golf.")

How do you feel about NYC?

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P.S. This clip of “nice” New Yorkers gave me goose bumps.

TGIF

Happy Friday!

3 things to be happy about…

1.

It’s a dog’s life: adorable video, featured on Rockstar Diaries

Dog & baby, with music by The Black Keys

2.

Home decor inspiration: unique “vase” with fuschia bouquet, presented by Cupcakes and Cashmere

Flowers in a vintage mint julep cup

3.

That’s what she said

Awesome quotes I found on Pinterest

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P.S. That's what she said 

Music video


picture via http://taza-and-husband.blogspot.com/

The Hunt

Time Out New York just released its “Find Your Perfect Apartment” issue. Of course there’s no perfect apartment in NYC, especially in the West Village (our personal favorite area and also the most sought-after neighborhood by everyone we know or know of, including Natalie Portman, Brooke Shields, Blake Lively, SJP, etc.) In fact Time Out doesn’t even feature a West Village spot in its story. The mag couldn’t find “the one” in the West Vill.

But we did! After hunting for two tiring weeks, Justin and I finally found an apartment that’s perfect for us, despite its imperfections (like the building’s slightly mildew-smelling elevator and lime-green elevator doors). But really we are just thrilled to have an elevator at all! If you know New York real estate – prime West Village real estate to be exact – you know elevators are hard to come by. And a few seconds of dankness in-transit is a small price to pay for a relatively low-rent large one-bed in the heart of the West Village. Our new gut-renovated apartment is situated on a tree-lined street in a lovely, quiet neighborhood that is just minutes away from the best restaurants, bars, shops, gyms, bike paths, etc. Do I sound like StreetEasy? That’s not surprising considering the amount of time I’ve spent reading apartment descriptions in the last couple of weeks.

StreetEasy is a great tool for apartment hunting and I highly recommend it. Its images are, for the most part, accurate depictions of its listed apartments (unlike craigslist). And the brokers listed on StreetEasy are – in our experience – truthful. Yesterday I loitered around our new building and harassed the tenants, confirming with our new neighbors that mice will not be a problem, nor will the building’s surrounding construction projects. No rodents and no loud noise? Sounds perfect enough.


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Case of the Mondays

I was nearly knocked over while waiting in line at CVS earlier today. I said sorry. She, the assaulter, said nothing. Rather than roll my eyes or make a bitchy comment under my breath, I practiced compassion and let her off the hook. Who knows? Maybe she was headed for the Tampax aisle. Or maybe she just had a case of the Mondays.

Speaking of having the blues, here’s an article on crying in public. Have you ever cried in public? I have. I remember a specific instance years ago, when I was slaving away at a Devil Wears Prada job. I had a meltdown on the sidewalk, oh so discreetly in the middle of Times Square. I had probably just gotten screamed at for getting my boss a triple-espresso-café-latte-NON-FAT-milk-with-3-and-a-half-splendas instead of a quadruple-espresso-café-latte-NON-FAT-milk-with-3-and-a-half-splendas. Oops.

Here’s a yogic tip on BEATING the blues: inversions. “Inversions—any pose that gets your heart or feet above your head—have an amazing capacity to enliven your body, mind, and spirit,” says Stan Woodman, yoga teacher trainer and co-owner of Kaia Yoga in Greenwich, CT (whole living mag, Oct 2011). All yoga experts I’ve encountered say the same thing: going upside down makes you happy. So why not put your legs up against the wall? (Or do a headstand, handstand, etc.)

Happy head-standing!

A

(pic via gaiamlife)