These Are a Few Of My Favorite Things // 2.5.21

Hi Friends! Happy Friday. It’s been a snowy week here in NYC. I’m usually not a fan of snow (gimme warm weather and sunshine, please!) but Washington Square Park was GORGEOUS on Tuesday morning. It’s rare to say NYC feels peaceful and calm, but that morning it did.

Last weekend was SO cold here. I ended up barely leaving my apartment — not even for my usual afternoon long walk. While it was nice to be all cozy inside, I think the lack of interaction with the outside world really brought me down. I was going a bit stir crazy being cooped up in my apartment alone.

I’m hoping this weekend I’ll be able to spend a bit more time outside. It really makes such a difference for my sanity these days.

Today’s favorites are a bit all over the place: an easy go-to dinner, the new hairdryer I’m OBSESSED with, jeans that are comfy enough for quarantine, and more!

savory dinner oatmeal

I’ve been trying to up my oatmeal intake at the recommendation of my doctor. Yay, genetics for giving me high cholesterol! I can’t believe it’s taken me until now to start making savory oatmeal for dinner. It’s VERY underrated.

I’ve been boiling the oats in chicken broth for extra flavor. Then I sautee spinach or arugula and mushrooms in garlic olive oil. Add a fried egg, Everything But the Bagel seasoning, and some vegan parmesan cheese. It doesn’t look pretty, but it’s flavorful and perfect for winter.

Curling my hair

Okay, this is probably a bit of a weird favorite 🙈 but it’s the truth! Curling my hair has been bringing me a lot of joy I think because it’s a relatively mindless, almost meditative thing I can do at night to start winding down.

It only took me 30 years, but I’ve finally figured out how to successfully beach wave curl my hair with a curling wand. I got my hair cut a few weeks ago and my stylist beach waved my hair at the end. I LOVED how it looked and realized I’ve had a curling wand collecting dust in my bathroom for probably 10 years now. It was time to finally teach myself how to use it. Because really, what else am I doing with my time!?

After watching a few YouTube videos and some trial and error I’m starting to get the hang of it. I’m still perfecting my method, but what’s worked best is:

• hair that was washed 1-2 days prior (I shower every night but only wash my hair 2-3 times a week)
• I have A LOT of hair so I start by pulling my hair up in a high ponytail and curling everything.
• when I take the ponytail down I touch up the front spots and anywhere that needs a bit more oomph
• I place the curling wand behind the section I’m curling and essentially the motion is wrapping it up, back, and around the wand.
• Sometimes I’ve also been using this BRILLIANT auto-curler by Conair that I got in a gift bag for tighter curls in areas. It’s SUPER easy to use but the curls are really defined. I personally like it better in conjunction with looser waves from a curling wand.

 

the Double Shot Blow-Dryer Brush from Drybar

Apparently, 2021 is the year I get very into haircare and playing with new hair tools.

I recently bought this snazzy hairdryer that Drybar makes and WOW is it a gamechanger for blowouts. Before figuring out how to curl my hair earlier this month 😂 I’ve always had ZERO hair skills. Like, I’m fortunate that my hair is pretty straight naturally so I can usually get it to look decent just blowdrying it and combing it with my fingers. I hate, though, when my hair gets flippy or wavy in the back. It also gets really frizzy.

The blowdryer reminds me of an upgraded version of one I had from Conair with a brush attachment growing up. I’ve also heard it’s similar to the Revlon one that I’ve seen a lot of people talk about. From what I’ve heard, the Drybar one is more expensive but less damaging for hair. I haven’t used the Revlon one so can’t speak to that.

The Double Shot blow-dryer brush is super easy to use and leaves my hair frizz-free, shiny, and perfectly styled in less than 10 minutes. I typically wait until my hair is almost dry to blowdry my hair with any dryer, so I’m not sure how well it works on super wet hair.

 

Rupaul’s Drag Race is baaaack!

My favorite show is back back back again! It’s been a fun thing to look forward to every Friday. This season really has such a stellar cast. I’m rooting for Symone (duh), Rose, Utica, and Gotmik.

 

jeans from Everlane

As a whole, I’ve been trying to simplify my wardrobe. Everlane is my go-to for basics. Most of my favorite simple cotton tanks and t-shirts are from them, as are my favorite undies.

I’ve really been loving their looser fitting jeans lately. Not that I wear jeans all that often, but once in a while I want to feel a bit more put together which these days means wearing jeans rather than yoga pants 😂

Apparently skinny jeans are out these days, according to Gen Z’ers on TikTok. I still love my skinny jeans but I gotta say, the Mom jeans trend is quite comfy.

The Super Soft Relaxed Jean from Everlane (above) has become a favorite of mine with a graphic t-shirt or cropped sweatshirt. I find they fit true to size. I’m 5’2″ so have been wearing them rolled up at the bottom.

I also just got a pair of the 90s Cheeky Straight Jeans (above). I’m kind of obsessed with them and love wearing them with a tight-fitting shirt on top to balance out the looser fit on the bottom. I recommend sizing up as they run a bit small.

 

I’m on a podcast!

I had so so so much fun chatting about both yoga and social media on the Adultfluent podcast. You can listen to the episode here.

 

I wrote a thing about mindfulness and choosing not to have kids

Check it out here.

 

Upcoming Zoom yoga classes

Teaching on Zoom this week was for sure one of my favorite things! I’m teaching 3 upcoming classes:

• Wednesday, February 10, 7:00PM: Boy Band Vinyasa Yoga – Sign up info here
• Thursday, February 11, 6:30PM: Donation Based Breath Focused Flow in partnership with Yoga Fundraiser Flows to support the Loveland Foundation – Sign up info here
• Wednesday, February 17, 7:o0PM: 90s and 00s Divas Vinaysa Yoga – Sign up here

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