Blog / Style

Dressed for Transition

Fall is coming, can you feel it? The days are getting shorter, the light is changing, and you can now find Halloween candy at your local drug store. Also, it’s still hot. Just last weekend I sought refuge from the oppressive humidity in an air-conditioned Williams Sonoma that smelled like pumpkin spice. And even though today the air feels crisp, I’m just not ready to drag all of my sweaters out from underneath my bed. As summer lingers and fall flirts, there’s really only one thing that seems clear: we’re in the throes of transition.

Brow Bar Confessions

I was eleven years old when I experienced my first beauty trauma. Much to my mother’s dismay, my grandmother had convinced me to cut bangs and perm my hair. At the time, it seemed like a fantastic idea, but the perm only solidified my awkward phase by becoming the tragic cherry on top of the braces, acne, and lime green school uniform in which I spent my tween years. It’s a look that still haunts me to this day.

Weekend at Home

I’m curled up on my sofa wearing ripped jeans and my favorite sweater, enjoying every single second of being at home with nothing to do. Actually, I have about a million things to do, but I’m not going to do any of them. That’s the real gift of spending an entire weekend at home: it’s an invitation to make a conscious choice to let go, spread out, and see what happens. I may just lounge around and veg, but I also know full well that as soon as I declare autonomy from my to-do list, I immediately feel reinvigorated to get things done; it’s like reverse psychology for my nervous system!

No More Stretchy Pants

I’m writing this from the comfort of my home, in the comfort of my favorite pair of yoga pants, an old t-shirt, and my Crocs flip-flops. I haven’t brushed my hair today; I just threw it up into a messy bun. I’m not wearing any makeup. I literally showered, brushed my teeth, and ran out the door to teach.

Today’s “outfit” is what we yoga teachers commonly refer to as the “yoga uniform.” Yoga clothes are not only comfortable, they have been my comfortable choice every morning for the past eleven years. Some days it feels like elastic has interdigitated into the fabric of my skin. While some have perfected the art of dressing up their stretchy pants, I’ve always struggled to transform the sporty look into anything other than what it is: spandex.

Holiday Spirit

I miss good ‘ole fashioned holiday spirit. These days is feels like the holidays are wrapped in shame and tied with a big fat ribbon of guilt. Even just a small sampling of recent conversations with my friends reveals that we’re all suffering from the same feelings of lack—there’s just not enough time to get it all done. For example, one of my girlfriends wrote, “I’m hunched over my computer, feverishly ordering yet more last-minute xmas gifts and pouring over my extensive end-of-year to-do list (gets longer, not shorter, why?)!” That was on December 10th.

Flower Box

The majority of my creative inspiration comes from wandering around my life with my eyes and heart wide open. Creativity, I find, is like Starbucks—it’s everywhere, unless you’re looking for it, in which case it’s nowhere to be found. One day, while strolling aimlessly through the city, I happened upon a pretty little flower shop where they packaged tiny bouquets in what reminded me of old hat boxes. How cool, I thought! I immediately imagined offering this to someone as a gift. The last thing anyone would expect when opening the box would be a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, and that’s what I just love about this idea—they’ll never see it coming.

Summer at Home

There’s something about the summertime that begs us to settle in, spread out, and relax. The spring and fall, by nature, encourage us to move through change; we’re prompted to explore and transform within the context of transition. Winter is the time to hibernate, so while we might be nestled in our homes, the focus is on retreating inward to conserve enough energy to burst open come spring. The beauty of summer is that all has already been achieved—the seeds we’ve planted and tended are now ripening before our eyes. Our job is simply to enjoy the fruits of our efforts. For me, summer is the perfect time to practice the art of being.