I don’t know about you, but here in NYC the weather is absolutely gorgeous. I’d go so far as saying it’s perfect. Yes, perfect. It’s in the 70s, little/no humidity, blue skies, gentle breeze – ahhhh I’m in love with it.
After my morning at school, I’m home for some pesto and watching day one of the US Open (I heart watching tennis). On deck for the afternoon: a brief nap (I’m exhausted), a nice long walk, and Pilates class on the Reformer. Lovely.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: breast cancer, nyc, pilates, shape magazine
It’s almost Pilates for Pink time! This October 4, Shape magazine will be sponsoring Pilates for Pink. A full day of pilates in Union Square park, here in NYC, that benefits the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. For $25, you can take pilates classes all day, mingle with other like-minded ladies, and take home a sweet swag bag and pilates mat.
I know I’m signing up – hope to see you there in October!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: date, eggplant, elliptical, Julie & Julia, Kashi, movies, nyc, stair climber
I had a most wonderful “Ellen-day” today. I spent the day on a date with myself doing things that I thoroughly enjoy.
To start, I had a cup of yerba mate tea, a berry smoothie (vanilla soymilk, dash of pomegranate juice, frozen mixed berries), and a handful of almonds. Then I headed off to the gym for:
- 10 minute warm-up on the elliptical
- 20 minutes on the stair climber
- 20 minutes on the recumbent bike
On my way back to the subway, I had a post-workout banana as a snack.
I headed down to the Upper West Side for a few of my favorite activities: reading magazines at Barnes and Noble, window shopping – especially at home stores and fancy athletic wear, and the movies. So, I stopped by Gracious Homes, Pottery Barn, and Barnes and Noble before going to the movie theater for Julie & Julia.
The movie was the best part of my Ellen-date. It was also my first time going to the movies by myself. I got there a little early so I could get a good seat and start the delishy little lunch I brought myself. (I’m not sure why I felt that there would be seat-competition for a 1 pm show on a Wednesday… but hey). I had brought little whole wheat pitas with my homemade chicken salad-ish mix. I also had some celery and carrot sticks, grapes, and some green tea from Starby’s. All of it was super-fab.
Yikes, crazy eyes! Sorry, it was kinda dark in there. After the movie (which was really awesome – I decided I really heart Merryl Streep). I snacked on an apple and did a little more browsing before heading home.
Tonight, dinner is an eggplant/tomato/breadcrumb mix that I threw in the oven along with a thin-crust Kashi roasted veggie pizza. We’ll be catching up on season 2 of Mad Men, so I may even try to mix the husbo and I a little cocktail or two.
Happy Ellen-day! Haha, here’s to another one real soon 
Filed under: People/Person | Tags: Bittman, cooking, diet, kastor, marathon, nyc, running, video
On a long run, I looooove thinking about what big meal I’m going to have when I finish. (At around mile 22 of this year’s NY Marathon, I began to set my sights on a burger and a nice cold beer).
Recently, the NY Times blog Well (one of my faves), featured an article and video with Mark Bittman and Deena Kastor. Mark Bittman, of whom I’m a HUGE fan, is a NYTimes foodie. Apparently, he’s also a runner who is training for this year’s marathon. Deena Kastor is a super US marathoner. The two paired up for a run, and for some cooking.
Check out the article and the video here.
Happy Fourth of July!
I’ve been on a recent vegetarian/vegan restaurant kick lately. Raw Soul is a raw vegan joint on 145th Street in Harlem. It’s a fairly small space – very warm and friendly atmosphere. We ordered at the counter (I got the pesto pizza, husbo got the lasagna and we split a lemonade). My pesto pizza was out-of-this world. The raw crust was light and crunchy. The pesto was very flavorful, yet not too oily, and the veggie toppings were piled on high. While I did not try the lasagna, husbo gave a great review. I’m looking forward to heading back there to try the rest of the menu!
In addition to a lovely restaurant, Raw Soul also offers educational classes on raw food preparation, Chef course, meal delivery, and wellness literature. If you are in NYC, Raw Soul is worth a trip to Harlem.
If you’ve never eaten at a vegan restaurant, I recommend trying. My favorite part is that I feel satisfied and light when I leave – not sleepy, stuffed, and heavy (as in many other restaurants). I find that the food in vegan restaurants is always super fresh (not questionable as in other spots sometimes) and I get to sample things that I don’t necessarily have the time or know-how to prepare myself.
I said that I’ve been using my neti pot daily to combat my seasonal allergies. Well, until about a year or two ago, I didn’t know what a neti pot was. Now, it’s my go-to item when I feel a cold coming on.
I was toying with the idea of doing my own video demonstration with the neti, but I am far less graceful with it than the demonstrator lady. With neti, it isn’t always pretty, but it gets the job done.
I fill mine with lukewarm tap water, and mix in 1tsp of regular table salt. I think that now I’m using it daily, I may switch to a more neti-specific salt. Aside from allergies and colds, I’d like to continue using my neti on a daily basis. Living in NYC, I’m always a little concerned about what I’m breathing in every day. With neti, I can help cleanse out the passages.
Living uptown in Manhattan, I have often had to travel downtown to meet some of my exercise needs (namely yoga). This has changed a little over the years as more businesses are opening in the neighborhoods uptown. On Friday I had the pleasure of trying out a new (new to me, at least) yoga studio called Bikram Yoga Harlem.
Bikram yoga is also known as hot yoga. A bikram studio is heated to about 105 degrees (kinda humid too), and participants are led through 26 poses, or asanas. The idea is that with the heat your body releases toxins and can be more flexible (not necessarily in that order).
I have to say that upon entering the studio, I began to sweat. I suppose that’s the whole idea, but it was something I was definitely not used to. I have practiced yoga numerous times before, so I was familiar with many poses and the nature of yoga classes. I found that the instructor was very helpful and called me (and the one other new student) by name to compliment/correct/motivate us. Two asanas in, I felt like I had sweat off 6 lbs. It was pretty intense. I also found that I was a bit more flexible as the class went on. Overall, I left feeling invigorated and wanting more. I’ll definitely do it again – and head back to Bikram Yoga Harlem.
It’s Spa Week! The deal with spa week is that participating spas offer (very) discounted rates on treatments. These treatments range from spa mani/pedis to microdermabrasion. I used this spa week to get a 60 minute hot stone massage for $50 (regularly $120) at the Green Tea Massage and Spa in the Murray Hill/Gramercy area (NYC).
I love getting masssages. I generally treat myself to one after a big race (NYC marathon, for example), but this time I decided springtime (and a great deal) was reason enough to get pampered. In the past I’ve opted for Swedish, deep tissue, and sports massages. I had never had a hot stone therapy and thought this would be a good time to try. Essentially, the hot stone massage began like a regular deep tissue massage. Then, the masseuse rubbed muscles with, yes, hot stones (it’s not just a clever name).
The massage was… good. Thorough, I’d even say. The ambience at this particular place was lacking, though. The rooms were very small, and not very private. The walls that divided the massage “rooms” did not go up to the ceiling, and there were not doors, but curtains. This meant that throughout my massage, I could hear people coming and going, phones ringing, conversations in other rooms, etc… What it lacked in ambience, it made up for in technique. While I may not travel cross-town to get there again, it may have been worth it for a down and dirty massage without the price tag.
Remember, if you are going to get any spa treatment, here or somewhere else, it’s important to keep safety in mind. To know what’s right and wrong, acceptable/unacceptable, check out these articles:
“Secrets of a Spa Cop” (SELF magazine)
“Massage Therapies” (WJM)
