There is a beetle outside my front door

and on my back porch

and both are there

no matter which door

I exit

No joke! The california beetles are out and about.

The Egyptian Scarab Beetle are associated with the Creator god Atum and represent resurrection. "heart Scarabs" were placed on the mummified deceased to ensure rebirth.

protection plan

Hamsa: an North African/Middle Eastern amulet worn in defense against the evil eye.

Nazar or Evil Eye stone: a Turkish/Greek charm also warn to ward off the evil eye.

Evil Eye: a look of envy or ill will that can cause injury or bad luck.

"Envy come from people's ignorance of, or lack of belief in, their own gifts." -Jean Vanier

Change your thoughts, change your life. In order to rid yourself of a curse (or just deal with a Jealous Jane) change your attitude to change the vibrational frequency around you, so you become impenetrable to any negative energy directed at you. You cannot change others, only yourself.

"If you don't like something change it. If you cannot change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." - Maya Angelou

Can a psychic cleanse your aura?... Know thyself. A psychic comforts many personalities but freaks out others!

Find Hamsas and Nazars at Beech in La Jolla.

lecher les vitrines

Quality not quantity, the slow life, and other musings from our friends on the Mediterranean.

Walk: daily to the market to purchase dinner.

Eat: soup, main dish, salad, cheese, and dessert in small portions.

Think: gelato not froyo.

Wear: one timeless Missoni versus five mediocre Banana Republics.

Bring: friends together even if it's imperfect (it isn't.)

know: when something works and do it again and again.

Combine-and-conquer: take all the tips and tricks you love from different parts of your family, friends, books, T.V., etc., and create your very own culture and tradition.

Passeggiata: take pleasure in life like an Italian with a leisurely stroll before and/or after dinner.

Paseo: The Spanish version of the passeggiata. Both involve window shopping, chatting with neighbors, and the whole family together. Especially nice on a Saturday or Sunday of big eating.

Olive Oil: liquid gold and one of the healthiest foods you can eat.

It's not about you

China for the bride! The gift you'll cherish forever ... teacups so strong you can stand on them.

Gift giving is a complex and important part of human interaction.

Psychologists say it's often the giver rather than the receiver who reaps the biggest psychological benefits from the gift.

So don't be a scrooge and take this joy away from them.

If someone wants to throw you a party and they want everyone to bring gifts, surrender to the urge to beg them not to, go with the flow, put your party dress on, wipe that pout off your face and accept all the fuss with grace.

At common law, for a gift to have legal effect, it is required that

1) intent by the donor to give the gift.

2) delivery to the recipient of the item to be given as a gift.

Ever lose sleep over whether or not you sent a thank you note? Just send that person a card or small gift "thinking of you" or "happy summer/labor day weekend/back to school" and you'll be on the nice list, regardless of any past forgetfulness.

a table of contents

A hostess prepares in advance

so when her guests arrive she is calm cool and collected with her feet kicked up on the coffee table enjoying a nonalcoholic cocktail.

Do not try to chop/cook/bake/set the table/bathe/get dressed/let people in/have a conversation simultaneously when seven p.m. rolls around:

~ Prepare anything/everything you can the night (or two nights) ahead during the down hours of your day such as late afternoon or after dinner. I invariably sloth around after dinner, so I like to use that time to bake, lay plans or set a glorious table.

- always serve a dessert you can concoct in advance

- chop veggies and wash lettuce

- whisk dressings or sauces

- soup is the perfect make-ahead, no-fuss, impressive starter

- choose serving dishes for the meal and those for nuts and app.s, too

- decorate: set or decide on a table setting and theme

~ After work it is a frenzy at the grocery store, do anything possible to avoid this madness. Many are open very early - check your local times, or shop leisurely during lunch.

~Since you always have fresh flowers and candles around your house, you won't even have to think about those.

~ Know what you are going to wear. Something you can move in, like a 1960's hostess gown or 1920's hostess pajamas.

Not everyone is built to be a host. If entertaining isn't your forte, but you wish to give back to your hosting friends and secure invitations in the future, take them out to dinner your treat.

shopaholic!

Yesterday I was feeling a little drowsy and lazy late in the afternoon and I turned on the TV (not my usual style.) I stumbled upon "Clean House: Messiest Home in America" (and, we can assume, messiest in the world.) These shocking homes are very educational. They scare the living daylights out of me (at one point I cried,) and can be a lesson to us all in becoming acutely aware of how much we own and how much time we spend consuming.

We might not wish to be considered thrifty, but let's at least be choosy (click for an older post on this.)

Shop from the heart:

~There is so much out there- if you don't loooooove it, on to the next!

~Any doubt in your mind? Pass!

~Make fast decisions, if it takes you 10 minutes to decide then you don't want it.

~Or walk away, if it isn't there tomorrow it just wasn't meant to be.

~Don't bring/listen to friends input, what do they know?

~Buy fewer more expensive/quality items rather than volumes of crap.

Anytime you buy something to bring into your home you must already have a place for it. As soon as you get home take off the tags and put it in that place. Everything a purpose, everything in its place.

~Never buy anything with the slightest possibility that you might return it!!!!!

That is just bad form.

Unconventional closet tip:

Keep crazy costume-y stuff, but get rid of the ragged or mundane.

Contrary to popular belief, I find from personal experience that the 'event' 'it' might be 'perfect' for is certain to come along. You don't want to be stuck looking for roller-skates and a poodle skirt the night before the fifties hop, instead have both on hand in your costume room/closet/drawer. It's not the pink cowboy hat you need to get rid of, it's the mountain of camp t-shirts you're keeping for 'sentimental' reasons that has got to go.

Also, buy crazy cool dresses/items even if you don't need them at the time but are pretty sure something will come up. Build an arsenal: have your army ready before war is declared. This may sound a little "hoarder-y" but a hoarder buys all the catsuits the day of halloween out of panic because he/she doesn't have the perfect leotard found over the summer already stashed away. Just like an extreme dieter ends up bingeing.

Checking in

This season's heat came a little late in California and I just switched our bedding over to "summer" mode (clean, light and white,) and upon coming home to the transformation J gave his highest compliment: "I feel like I'm in a hotel!"

3 easiest tips ever to hotel-ify your home:

1. Fresh Flowers! For a mere $10 or more a week flowers create an instant upgrade to first class. Buy whatever attracts you on a weekly basis. Add the flora to your grocery list, right there with eggs, as they are a necessity not a luxury. Arrange them in a pitcher or container of choice (get creative) and no matter how many flowers you can afford put them in a small enough 'vase' so they are pushed together and bursting out looking full and lavish.

2. Fruit in a bowl. Or go the extra mile and create a "mini-bar": have snacks in small sizes arranged nicely in a basket. Always have some sort of candy or goodie out in a little dish. Like the flowers, the image of abundance is key- let the fruit and snacks be almost too plentiful for their container. (As the plums/gummi bears/pistachios get eaten, downsize the vessel.)

3. Trays! Display all objets d'art on trays (or hide not so pretty remotes in ornate boxes and containers.) Burn candles when guests are over (another must with flowers and snacks) on trays! Place your flowers in their receptacle on a tray, serve glasses on trays, bathroom essentials on trays, place no item on any surface without a tray in between and put small trays on big trays! Start collecting trays (they are easy to store.)

Boiling point

Back in the U.S.A.

"Seemmereeng in the vibration," is what we did after three OMs in yoga this morning. The deep throaty voice on Studio Namaste's long-haired brazilian Elka is right- it feels good to seemmer: still cooking in the aftermath of the big boil, but at a lower, constant, and less violent heat. Still changing, but with less doing.

BRFWA: Breath, Relax, Feel, Watch, Allow.

Anytime, anywhere. BRFWA.

Coconut Chickpea Curry for two

~ spam

~ 1 tsp cumin seeds

~ 1/2 onion chopped

~ 1/2 inch fresh ginger root peeled and slivered

~ 2 hot green chile peppers of choice

~ 1/2 cup canned diced (smoked) peeled tomatoes

~ 1 can chickpeas, drain and rinse

~ 1/3 C coconut milk

~ salt and pepper

1. Fry cumin seeds in spam over low heat 1 minute until fragrant/toasted.

2. Cook in onion until translucent 5 minutes.

3. Add ginger, chiles, and tomato cook 3 minutes.

4. Add chickpeas, coconut milk, and salt to taste bring to a boil.

5. Reduce heat to low and simmer* 5-10 minutes.

6. Crank on pepper.

7. Serve with basmati rice.

adapted from Vikram Vij's Elegant and inspired Indian Cuisine.

*practice BRFWA: simmer simultaneously with your dish.

I am not a fan

J's grandparents have many words of wisdom, in fact, the family has published a book of them. A personal favorite: "don't be a fanatic."

(J's grandmother makes an exception for chocolate.)

Us Clevelanders have recently seen the dangers of blind faith, but this simple adage reminds us on a daily basis not to obsess or label and to leave room for life to happen.

I referred to myself in writing as a "aspiring vegan." (To which I have had several inquiries.) At the time, I said this with truth and conviction as I do feel it is important to protect our animal friends and be good to our own bodies, but I, like you, am ever-evolving and prefer to live in the moment and act as I deem appropriate in every situation, free of self-imposed rules. Nothing is finite, and everything should be taken with a grain of salt.

One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing. --Socrates

I no longer refer to myself as a "vegetarian," "vegan," or anything else: why be limited to such confines? If a girlfriend makes me a lovely chicken dinner- I won't turn it away, if I am at a BBQ with the best pulled pork in the world smoked for three days (even basted in the middle of the night) I won't miss out on trying a piece, if a certain specialty and exotic meat purveyor wants to send me a freebee it will not go to waste, and if I feel like cooking chicken tonight...

For the most part we should all try to abstain from exploiting living beings, and understand the consequences meat consumption has on this earth but, above all of those beliefs, choose not to be Fanatic.

"Speak what you think today in hard words and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said today." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind...

Other things I outspokenly hated but love now (and might hate again tomorrow.)

~ Trader Joe's

~ Uggs

~ iPhone

~ almonds

~ Louis Vuitton

~ shabby chic

~ wearing black

~ getting wedding presents

~ zero-calorie drinks

~the Fourth of July

I Often Contradict Myself

I often contradict myself.

Oh no, I never do.

I argue with me day and night.

That simply isn't true.

Oh yes it is. Oh no it's not.

I do this all day long.

Oh no I don't. Oh yes I do.

That's right. No way! It's wrong.

I'm really quite agreeable.

I argue night and day.

I love to be around myself.

I wish I'd go away.

So if you see me arguing,

it's certain that you won't.

I like to contradict myself.

I promise you I don't.

--Kenn Nesbitt

In other news Click Here if you want to know why it is so HOT out. Farmer's almanac predicted this long ago and is my new go-to weather man! Also, check out their "best days, " (click) today is best for painting, getting married, buying a home, entertaining, and traveling for pleasure: any important days or tasks ahead?! You can plan accordingly...

Vive la France!

I will be back in the Country and at the computer full-force in August!

Until then, I invite you to join me- live like a french woman! Walk wherever you can, indulge in fine foods, simplify your routine, streamline your home, create from scratch, enjoy nature, visit farmers markets and antique fairs or flea markets, relish every moment, read, or re-read Mireille Giuliano's books...

July 14th is Bastille Day, the French day of Independence. A french inspired party perhaps? Pourquoi pas?!

santosha

contentment

Happy with yourself, your body, your life, your assets .... content.

Not dwelling in the past, or looking to the future. Being in the moment.

This, according to yoga, is bliss.

The breath is always in the moment, and if you would like to be in the moment too, a great practice is watching the breath. If unwanted thoughts enter your mind, send them to your heart and they will melt away.

Not my drawing

J's sanskrit name, btw, is Santosha. I kid you not. It was born in Aspen, fully instated in Sayulita and is reaffirmed everyday again and again...

J and I have been practicing extra santosha by truly embracing San Diego for all that it is. We not so elegantly fought the character of the sprawling wild-child City for months until J's law-school compadre told her story of doing the same: it went something along the lines of "I lived in Point Loma with my parents and for two years I hated it with all my might, until finally, I just let go and learned to love it for what it is. Now I'm into San Diego more and more everyday."

Isn't it amazing how we all know deep down what we must do and where happiness hides, but it's not until someone (often someone we don't know) or something hits us with the truth so hard it knocks us right to the floor and we can't not pay attention.

Thank you little Law School Buddha, for J and I are embracing crazy California with all of its quirks and digging every grimy, sandy, polluted, sunny minute of it. Here's to every tattoo parlor, homeless hippy, drinking game, $2 taco, tanning bed, serve yourself froyo, and bustling A.M. bar. Amen.

My all-star girlfriend E whom I have known and loved for 21 years is a top chef and introduced me to "Nuttzo." It's a nut butter with every nut imaginable. Though I have a arguably unhealthy obsession with nuts and their butters; I continue to feast, bought this product yesterday, and thoroughly enjoyed a few tablespoons today. Check it out. (They sell it at whole foods.)

More tips from E are certain to come... she's a busy girl and has so much to share and give.

This morning J made Challah French Toast for breakfast. Does anyone out there have an absolute favorite recipe for french toast? In France french toast is called "pain perdu," translation "lost bread," because it is made by the french women with leftover stale baguettes. (And because they're not going to call it 'le toast francais' now, are they?) It's one of those things the french ladies make because they have nothing in the house but a few stale pieces of bread and an egg and here we turned it into an indulgent brunch fixture..... gotta love that.

I got the blues

I got the my-teachers-outta-town-and-she-left-us-with-a-substitute blues.

Yogini Elka was taking her mother to the airport this afternoon and in her place was a self-proclaimed "Vinyasa flow teacher" who "wasn't sure what to teach us lowly Gentle Yoga folk" (in so many words.) After this introduction I wasn't thrilled for the next hour in change, but as all sub'd classes and other sticky situations go, I ended up learning something* (other than NOT to announce to the class the limited little box you have squeezed yourself into.)

As we were creating asanas against the wall- trikonasana (triangle) and ardha chandrasana (half moon)- the unnamed alternate would cue us to step away and "test our balance" or we could stay against the wall where the pose was "easier than what she usually does in her regular class" (gag me.) I couldn't help but smile thinking with my elevated foot pressing into the wall what an amazing stretch I was getting, how the pressure was aligning me in a way the made the pose deeper and more demanding than any of the hundreds of times I've floated into ardha chandrasana in the middle of various yoga studio floors. The wall was not merely supporting me to go further, but literally pushing me to.

Take my word for it? I certainly hope not! Test it out for yourself. Test everything out for yourself. Then ask, but don't tell, how does it feel? Where do you feel it? What if you do this? Why not do that?

Try the varieties that make the spice of life and be the critic. Create your own Zagat's, Yelp, and Top Tens and watch them grow and transform as you age and experience.

Ceaselessly experiment, taste test, and step out of your comfort zone.

This weekend J made his long-distance fascination with Sailing an up-close reality by going out into our bay on a Sunfish... learning the ropes of what I can see is in the wind of becoming a great love. At the top is the view of the city of San Diego, 8th largest U.S. City in population, via not only J's boat, but our amazing little villa.

*Subbing is a difficult position to be in, human nature dictates that already the class hates you and you have to work extra for their respect and adoration. I have subbed many-a-class myself (even known as the go-to or perpetual subber in Aspen) and have every ounce of respect for teachers willing to take on the hairy task. If you know your teacher is going to be absent COME TO CLASS ANYWAYS you may find a new favorite person you would have never met or realize why you love who/what you love and never take her/him/it for granted again! Win-win.

As said by yoga journal in today's daily insight, take change in stride:

Part of the philosophy of yoga is that we can't always change the world around us. No matter what we do, bad things will happen and stressful situations will arise. The only thing we have control over—the only thing we can change—is ourselves. We can decide how to react to situations that challenge us. Will we allow them to throw us off center, or will we take them in stride?

Yoga teaches us how to respond to stress patiently. We must experience the physical challenge of the postures without fear, and use deep, calm breaths to move through them. If we can take that lesson off the mat and into our daily lives, we will move closer to the goal of responding to stress in a careful and considered way.