Feldenkrais Friday

For almost two months now, I have been driving past this adorable yoga studio in Inman Square called Art & Soul...trust me, the picture doesn't do it justice.

I finally checked out their website and discovered that one of the many classes offered there is in the Feldenkrais Method. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Fledenkrais is a method of movement and body-awareness that is supposed to be very good for musicians including classical singers! Clearly I had to check it out.

I had no idea what to expect, as I had only heard of the method and never experienced it. The entire class was spent on the floor completing tiny, intricate movements, and mostly just becoming aware of our bodies. The instructor would give us reminders like, "Notice your breathing." and "How do your shoulders move when you..."

The hour flew by! The class actually ended up running overtime. At the end, we were asked to get up and walk around the room, and to say a few words about how we felt. I felt so incredibly relaxed! The class really shut off my constant mind chatter, and made my body settle down. I think it would be very interesting to see how a voice lesson would go immediately after a Feldenkrais class because when we were finished, I felt as though I could have had the best lesson ever! I guess that's why its so respected among the classical singing community.

I will definitely be a frequent visitor in the Feldenkrais class as well as other classes at Art and Soul. At only $15 a drop-in, it was COMPLETELY worth it! I recommend this class for singers at any level. It would also be beneficial for tense humans who can't shut their brains off...lucky for me, I just happen to be both :)

Lust

Do you see why?

The Incredible, Edible Grapefuit...?

"Eating half a grapefruit ( or drunk 8 ounces of grapefuit juice) may block enzymes involved in fat and carbohydrate storage, and speed up the way our bodies burn fat, resulting in weight loss." womenfitness,net

Who has two thumbs and is going to be consuming a lot more graprefruit? THIS GUY!

As a tourist...

So...it's been a while...

Things you may or may not know:

1. I have transferred my lovely job as a Starbucks Barista to the Church St. Store in Harvard Square starting September 1st! So you all had better visit me or I'll find you...you don't want me to find you...

2. I'm moving to Allston as of mid-August, just across the river from Harvard Square!

So since I'm going to be farther away now and won't get to see all of my lovelies as often, there will be more frequent blogging in the future...get excited. I want to keep you guys updated on my life in the city...not that it's going to be that exciting or anything...but ya know :) <3

Recently, I have been exploring Boston as a tourist. As you know, I spend A LOT of time in the city, but I had never experienced any of the tourist attractions until two weeks ago... now I've experienced 3...in two weeks...anyone want to donate a fanny pack to the cause??

BOSTON DUCK TOURS

I'm sure y'all have seen these brightly colored, painfully awkward vehicles driving/boating/quacking around the city at least once while visiting Boston. I had my first experience on July 5th with my friend Lexi and a WHOLE lotta tourists...although these ones were courteous and well behaved...I'll explain soon...

All in all, I found the experience informative and enjoyable! I learned a lot about the city that I didn't know before, and feel I should know as a new "Bostonian". The price wasn't too bad at about $40 (?), and the 90 minute tour was definitely worth the money. I feel like every Mass resident should try it once so you can at least give an honest opinion of it. I, personally, am a fan (especially since I got to ride on "Old Gloria" and the ceiling was signed by all the Red Sox!!!)

GHOSTS AND GRAVESTONES

This is one of the lesser known tours in Boston, but it was by far my favorite. My friend Brianne and I kind of stumbled upon it by accident when we were trying to find something to do near Faneuil Hall. Me, being the paranormal enthusiast that I am, had to try it out!

We were greeted by ghoulish actors in creepy makeup and costumes who sold us tickets and called me "cheeky"... I have no idea where they got that :) All of the actors spoke with incredibly decent British accents and never broke character (even when the 8...yes 8 200lb, incredibly loud, vulgar, OBNOXIOUS, New Orleans woman were incredibly loud, vulgar, and obnoxious...including an admission that one hadn't had sex in 9 yrs and another that she was seeing a married man. I swear, these people follow me.)

Anyway, the tour was also about $40 a person, which on this particular day was a bit steep, but it was TOTALLY worth it. The 90 minute tour included a stop at the Boston Common, which I learned is the largest burial ground in the city, as well as a private tour of the famous graveyard where Paul Revere is buried...it was awesome.

I'm pretty sure this one was flirting with me...

SWAN BOATS

My most recent excursion was to the Swan Boats in the Boston Public Gardens with my mom, aunt Jane, and 4yr old cousin Erin...it was pretty adorable. This attraction was the most reasonably priced at under $3. This $3 got you the same quick 10 minute spin around the pond as it did in the 1870's when it was founded...apparently by these guys...

Holy mustache, right? Here's what it looks like today...

So now that I've tackled tourism, I'm so ready to move! Maybe you'll even catch me peddling a Swan Boat one of these days...but only if my opera career fails...so lets hope this never EVER happens :)

Fantasy Land

Please check out this sneek peek from Design*Sponge...it's so beautiful.

What do you think?

WARDROBE STAPLE ALERT!

I got this skirt on Wednesday. I've only taken it off to go to bed.

It's fairly reasonably priced, SO comfortable, and actually seems pretty durable... It also goes with EVERY shirt I own. Yay UO! Thanks, mom!

Herbalism

My latest and most fabulous discovery to date is Lush's Herbalism facial cleanser. Now, this recommendation is coming from someone who has been to FOUR different dermatologists, tried every Retin-A on record, tried anti-biotics, tried proactive twice (and the Neutragena version, which makes 3), and been on the dreaded ACUTANE a whopping TWO times! The skin Gods have smited me for the last time!

About a month after I stopped taking accutane for the second time, my acne began to come back...shocking. After reading the reviews for this facewash, I figured I'd give it a try. I HAVE NOT GOTTEN A ZIT SINCE!!!

Oh, Martha...

I have recently discovered baking...now, I want all of Martha Stewart's kitchen appliences.

This one first.

Pooh Flu

Townsend...Day 1

So, as many of you know, I moved back into my parents house today. This is Grey Boy...

Some things never change.

Love Bedding.

Somehow, someday (hopefully before I move in September) this bedset from Anthropologie will be mine.

...more shoes

Soooo many cute shoes... so few funds.

*sad face*

Don Giovanni

The Boston Lyric Opera is doing Mozart's Don Giovanni until May 5th, and I'm REALLY hoping to make it! Its an opera about an Italian PLAYA!!! You should try to make it even if I can't, though. The BLO is FABULOUS!

Boston Marathon

So, last week when I was in Boston there were advertisements for the Marathon EVERYWHERE! This one was my favorite... I'm just going to post the picture and let you all figure out why.

Just in case you can't quite read it, it says," The time it took me to capture the elusive unicorn."

Love for LUSH

Laura face and I took what is becoming our bi-weekly ride into Boston today :) Laura was on a hunt for skinny jeans, and I for a cheaper version of the super-hot Dolce Vitas posted below...no luck on my front. However, we did stumble into a nearby LUSH and proceeded to indulge in luxurious, pricey, yet COMPLETELY worth it bath products. I posted pictures of my new friends below.

This one's name is Buffy

And this one's name is Sexy Peel P.S.~ I smell AMAZING!

Dolce Vita

So about the last brown heels...just kidding...these ones are BETTER!!!

Tattoo dream

So last night, I had a dream that I got a very large tattoo of a muscular, cartoon-like merman shark on my left shoulder blade... chew on that for a minute...

The upper body of the thing resembled a Street Shark...remember Street Sharks? Sort of like the Ninja Turtles, but SO not as cool? Now imagine that shark with a mermaid tail...yeah...

I was intrigued, so I did a dream analysis. Here's what I came up with:

Shark: To see a shark in your dream, indicates feelings of anger, hostility, and fierceness. You may be an emotional threat to yourself or to others.� You may be going through a difficult, painful, or unpleasant emotional period. Alternatively, it represents a person whom you see as greedy and unscrupulous. This person goes after what what he or she wants with no regards to the well-being and sensitivity of others. The shark may also be an aspect of your own personality which exhibit these qualities.

Mermaid: To see a mermaid in your dream, signifies the female aspect of yourself that is mysterious and secretive. It may also show a fear of sex. In particular, for a man to dream of a mermaid, it indicates that he is having fears of being drowned by the feminine aspect of his psyche. For a woman, it suggests doubts over her femininity.

Tattoo: To dream that you have tattoos, represent individuality and the desire to stand out in a crowd. You want to be unique and different from everybody else, particularly if you do not have any tattoos in real life. Consider also what the tattoo is. Alternatively, to dream that you have a tattoo, suggests that a waking situation or decision is having a much longer lasting effect that you had expected.

Things I learned at school today...

You say, "phonebook"...Umass Lowell says, "door stop"...I say, "CLEARLY, this is a far superior idea to shoving the book under the door! CLEARLY, student endangerment is the more intelligent 'North Campus engineer' way to hold the door open! THANK YOU, INNOVATIVE MINDS OF TOMORROW!!!"

Thing two: Murray Kidd and his son's pencil are hysterically terrifying...you must watch the blooper first...then, prepare for TERROR!!!

Its good to know that the thousands and THOUSANDS of dollars my parents and I have spent on my higher education is paying off already!

Just so you know...

This...

(ok...3 of these in approximately 45 min...)

Leads to this...

(followed by stabbing bladder pains when the T goes amazingly slow. all. the way. home.)

Thanks lovelies, for a FABULOUS first anniversary of my 21st birthday!!!

Plate Collection

So, for everyone that looks at me like I'm medicated every time I mention my "plate collection" and the "plate amoeba" THIS IS WHAT I MEAN!!! I'm trying to collect plates, so that one day I can do this! Hello! Awesome!

Also, if you'd like to donate a cute, unused plate to the cause, you are more than welcome to do so! (so far my plate tally is 2...but I'm trying, dammit!)

Parachute Jacket..literally.

I just saw this on NOTCOTURE. Christopher Raeburn makes jackets from re-deployed military parachutes! COOLES.THING.EVER! This guys is known for his use of fabrics sourced from de-commissioned military stock. His biography is on the site, so check it out!

Why theme presents are AWESOME

So, today is my 22nd Birthday 'vomit', and I arrived home from work this morning to find this GIANT gift bag on my bed!

And this is what it said...

Already funny...so the first thing I pulled out was this bottle of wine picked out by the Kristen Green.

Next were the bath products from Lush. Best.Bathing.Supplies.EVER! All natural, hand made, can you get any better??? The answer is no...not unless you rubbed a hippie on you.

AAAAND NOOOOOOWWW THE MAAAIIIN EVEEENT!!!

Yes ladies and gents, it is a rubber duckie vibrator!

I am very clean and happy!

Thank you Staisha, Kristen, and Rachel! I love you!

Wearin' o' the green...

This is my green bag that I am madly in love with...

Now...check out this article from last Sunday's Globe...I swear, I didn't even KNOW green bags were cool...so much for originality ;)

Cuc?

Cucumber my mother gave me in relation to my microwave.

Vegetable or phallic joke? You be the judge...

Love outfit...again with the Sartorialist...

Scarf, tights, layers, GIANT luggage brown bag, booties...any takers as to why I LOVE this outfit...anyone...Bueller???

Cats are gross.

This is Atticus... seemingly harmless, yes?

This is the surprise Atticus left for me on my computer cable...

...rage.

Reasons my mom is awesome...

Suitcase!

This is my first antique buy EVER, and I'm extremely happy with it! I got it at this great antique store in Townsend called Hobart's. Its humongous suitcase that looks like its probably from the 1920's (although I actually have no idea, so if any of you know anything about antique luggage, please correct me...)

LOOK HOW AWESOME IT IS!!!

I was thinking that once I get it to stop smelling like old people and musty basements I could use it for blanket storage in my future living room!

My favorite part of this suitcase is definitely the super old labels from traveling excursions. This thing has been to far more places than I have.

I love it SO much, and it only set me back like $40...TOTALLY worth it! Next time I go back to Hobart's, I'm getting this fabulous old bicycle ad print I found...I wish I were rich.

In Love <3

I just bought this, and I'm in LOVE!...just thought I'd share.

Heart Roommate

"You need to be the lemming who jumps off of the cliff FIRST!"
~Staisha Whitney

H&H

ROMANTIC BRAHMS Friday, March 20 at 8pm     Symphony Hall Sunday, March 22 at 8pm Join dynamic conductor Grant Llewellyn as he explores the Romantic era with Brahms’ Symphony No. 1. Brahms spent 20 years perfecting this masterpiece to honor the legacy of Beethoven and Haydn. The program also features Mendelssohn’s beautifully lyric Violin Concerto and a World Premiere of a new choral tribute to Handel. Brahms: Symphony No. 1 Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto Vignieri: Fanfare of Voices Ilya Gringolts, Violin More information about "Romantic Brahms." Buy tickets. Read the program notes.

Really?

Check out these furniture make overs from design sponge.  I'M SO INSPIRED!!!  They make the collage-in-progress on the front of my dresser look like a 3 yr old's crayon art of family members in odd colors missing limbs...

Pretty

This is pretty, and I want it...thats pretty much it I guess (should be studying for copyright...but I'm not..)