Old School Sunday

I woke up yesterday morning with a craving for donuts.

But not just any donuts. Dunkin' Donuts glazed chocolate donuts.

Of course it wasn't just a craving for a sweet breakfast. It was actually a craving to reconnect with my husband.

When we were first dating more than 20 years ago, we had a habitual Sunday morning.

Drive to Dunkin' Donuts. Buy donuts and orange juice (neither of us drank coffee back then).

Jump back in the car and head up Mesa Drive to the Pikes Peak/Garden of the Gods overlook. Listen to Says You!, the public radio word game show while eating said donuts, drinking said OJ, and chatting. After that, we'd head to Barnes & Noble to wander the shelves and ponder the new releases.

Maybe not the healthiest choice for our bodies, but healthy for our relationship.

I woke up yesterday morning wanting that again.

He was game, so we bundled up and headed out for "Old School Sunday."

There were a few changes. We did go get donuts, but we also stopped for coffee and chai.

We brought Lucy along. Couldn't leave the pup out!

We had stopped listening to Says You! years ago because the show didn't have a podcast — but after some research, we found it does now. Downloaded a few episodes and set them up on the iPhone.

Headed up the hill to the overlook. Ate. Drank. Tried to guess Says You! answers. Added a short walk around the property with the pup. Took a few panorama shots. (I used to take photos up there, but back then, they were taken on a film camera.) (Geez, I'm feeling old.)

We dropped the pup off at home and headed back out to B&N for some bookshelf "window shopping."

It was nice. Really nice.

It got me thinking about the habits we form in our lives. And the ones we let go of.

Do you have habits unintentionally long-gone that you miss?

I'm not really sure when we stopped our Sunday "Donuts, Driving & Discussions." Or why, exactly. I assume things shifted when we started making more conscious choices about eating and supporting local, and when we started drinking local coffee, and maybe when we moved from the Springs ’burbs back downtown.

But I realize in gaining something in all of that, we did lose this regular Sunday morning connection.

It's something I want to work on bringing back.

(And maybe every now and again, a glazed chocolate donut.)

Welcoming the new year with new tunes

Happy New Year!

Yes, I realize I'm two weeks behind on the sentiment. Since mid-December, I've been overwhelmed with a new fosterpup, and then both I and my Lucy pup got sick (see example of how we looked in the photo to the right).

As excited as I was about a new year, and about the many ideas I wanted to share with you, I just couldn't muster up a post. (I couldn't even keep up with my Savor blogging project. Which looking back has me a bit bummed out now.)

But that's life sometimes, right? Sometimes we have to choose to step back.

So that's what I did. In addition to much restorative napping, blowing my nose, sipping ginger-lemon-honey-cayenne tea, and making sure Lucy wasn't eating anything she shouldn't be, I've been listening to a lot of music and I wanted to share what I've been dipping in.

You can stream my Seeds Beneath the Snow Winter 2016 playlist below or find it over here on Spotify. It features some of my favorite artists: Gregory Alan Isakov, Tow'rs, Danielle Ate the Sandwich, Tracy Chapman, and Ingrid Michaelson, along with some newer to me.

I hope you enjoy it. Have an amazing weekend and I'll be back next week.

P.S. I've also been reading a lot — I'm seven books in to my goal of reading 78 this year. Have you picked up Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear yet? So. Good.

Winter with Aventura (& a giveaway!)

It's finally cold enough here in Colorado to don long sleeves, coats, sweaters, sweater dresses, hats and scarves — and I've being doing a lot of that cold-weather wearing in Aventura clothing.

If you've been following along, you already know that earlier this year, I was named one of the 2015 Aventura Ambassadors. Aventura is a women's clothing brand with the awesome mission of helping the earth one garment at a time.

What that means to this 50-year-old, family-owned company housed in the Sierra Nevadas is that they focus on creating fashion-forward clothing with low environmental impact — over the years, they've produced more than 100 styles of sustainable clothing.

Sustainable, and cute and comfortable. The magical three in clothing.

This winter, as an ambassador I was able to choose and test out a few outfits and accessories and I wanted to not only share some of my favorites with you, but also give you one more chance this year to win a 60-percent-off discount card, good for a one-time purchase of up to $250. (Whether you use it to buy yourself a present, or someone else, is up to you! You can order until 12/15 and still get items in time for Christmas with standard shipping.)

You'll see one of the two items that I've been wearing most this season featured in the photo above: the Floral Zip Neck Top in Garnet Rose. I wear a ton of black (and I mean a TON of black) so this pop of pink has been fun to play with. I wear it hiking. I wear it working out. I wear it with jeans, running errands. It does run a bit snug, so I recommend sizing up.

The second item I've been wearing and taking with me on all of my travels is the Bergamo Infinity Scarf in Grey. So soft, so cute and so warm. I wasn't sure if I'd like the infinity scarf concept, but it has been nice to be able to have a scarf "on auto." No worrying about how to wrap it. It comes in purple and rust as well, if you're not as black-obsessed as I am.

I can't finish this up without mentioning the Millbrae Jacket (I got mine in Merlot). I love the fit on this coat because it's nice and snug around the rib cage, giving it a little extra-feminine touch. Great pockets and funky big snap closures. Give it a try!

OK, on to the giveaway. Just leave a comment below, by 5 p.m. MT, Friday, December 11, and let me know what item in Aventura's gift guide strikes your fancy the most. I'll pick one winner from the group.

Happy holidays!

P.S. If you're interested in applying to be an Aventura Ambassador for 2016, applications are being accepted until Dec. 31 and the new roster will be announced mid-January. Find all the information here. 

No

Today's prompt from Rachel Cole's Savor project is focused on "no."

And I just want to give you one quote from her meditation to contemplate:

No is a complete sentence.

In order to make room for "yes" in our lives, we also have to be able to say "no." (And we don't have to couch it in "but," or "if," or "although.")

What can you say "no" to today?

Rest

Today's prompt from Rachel Cole's Savor project is focused on rest.

I think about rest a lot.

Rest is my work.

As a restorative yoga teacher, I preach rest. I guide people through an hour or more of deep rest and relaxation. And I know when it's been successful when their faces shift. Closed-lip half-smiles. Drowsy eyes. Skin that shimmers.

Bodies that move slower, steps that are smoother.

They breathe differently.

I recognize deep rest in my students because I've felt it in my own body. If I could give every person in this world a practice for better health, it would involve daily rest. (Myself included. I'm pretty good at it, but I can always use a reminder.)

Take time out of your day to:

• sit
• stare at the wall
• breathe with intention
• meditate
• reflect
• snuggle with your cat or pup
• hang out for 15 minutes in a supported Legs Up the Wall yoga pose at home, or
• find a great restorative yoga class to take. ;-)

Not only will your body move better and your brain work better when you need them to, you'll sleep better.

Just call me Dr. Kirsten, and consider this your script.