elyssa: five days in new york city

location: back in canada

i took fall reading week as an opportunity to head down to nyc. eat good food. drink good coffee. keep good company. and lastly, get in some good studying. the eating, drinking, and frolicking most definitely happened. the studying? not so much.

i got rained out. rain can be a serious morale killer. especially when every single book you're carrying gets drenched. and even more so, when you're standing on the street drenched down to your undergarments. thrilling, let me assure you..

i took the dismal weather as a sign from the heavens to shut the books and take the time to regroup. my days consisted of long walks alone through crowded streets and empty parks, with stops at hidden bookstores and many a starbucks.

outside looked like this:

inside, however, looked like this:

whole foods became my refuge. i went 3 times! traipsing through the beautiful columbus circle location and checking out all the goodies not found on canadian shelves immediately lifted my spirits.

indian food from the hot bar!

a mini fall cupcake!

seasonal lara bars!

honey roasted peanut butter!

blood orange chocolate!

i was in heaven. with food in my belly, even the grim outdoors became beautiful. lincoln center looked gorgeous in the twilight downpour.

with a change in mood, came a change in weather. sure enough, sunny skies for the remainder of my stay!

i started off one morning with yoga near bryant park at yoga to the people - an amazing, donation based yoga company with studios across the country. after walking 60+ blocks the day before, yoga was absolutely necessary..

yoga was my only formal exercise for the trip - but walking all day left my limbs feeling like they'd clocked several hours at the gym.

an emergency slim pret provided much needed energy on occasion..

some street nuts gave me the stamina for another 20 blocks or so..

long days left me craving a late night dinner of tofu and veggies at the zen palate..

and on my last day (joined by my mom!) - we walked a monumental 75 blocks and 12 avenues. darting through marathon runners gearing up for the big day (new york marathon - 45,000 runners!!)

our destination: candle 79. dare i say it?

candle 79 is my new favorite nyc restaurant.

and its vegan. oh my.

butternut squash wild mushroom crepe with beet salad and polenta fries.

antioxidant potion - sparkling water. concord grapes. blueberries. lemon. mint. ginger. agave.

freebie baby muffin.

tea and agave.

new goals:

now it's back to school and to the books for a grueling 3 more weeks. new york put me in a holiday state of mind..

christmas windows!

christmas cups!

..even with christmas on its way, the goal du jour is to stay focused. eat healthy. keep gymming and yogaing my way to sanity. study with purpose.

for the first time in forever i haven't been sick in months. must be the yoga. i shall keep yogaing.

i have the boy's birthday festivities and then thanksgiving around the corner. will be devising a bit of a clean week in anticipation of all the holiday frenzy. more on that soon.

current obsessions:

my new anthro turtle cardigan (dont judge, i love turtles). dreaming up thanksgiving dishes. christmas lights.

with love.

elyssa: last week on the mountain

location: the mountain (5 days until toronto)

week in review:

as i hunker down to write this post, i notice your current obsessions: 'muted grays and navy solids'. on my trip this weekend, i bought 2 very carefully planned purchases: a soft navy merino cardigan, and an amazing grey yogaish/sweatshirt thing. while the parallel would appear trivial to an outside eye, for me it perfectly encapsulates what you said the other day over tea - - 'with us it's always weird', and by weird, i know you meant..perfectly in sync.

new york was fabulous. literally, the perfect girls weekend. we went all out with the 'girls' theme - long, emotional talks..delightful brunches..a trip to a vegan chocolatiers..dinner at home over f*r*i*e*n*d*s (sitcom).




i worried about how i would react to this trip. for all its benefits, the mountain has a tendency to augment my already present reclusive tendencies. i worried i wouldn't be able to socialize properly and enjoy all that the city and my friends have to offer. this fear stems from the fact that i am best able to eat consciously either on my own or in the presence of those who share my approach to food. at the core of the problem is the lack of faith that i have in myself to make conscious choices in a social environment. while i was tempted to indulge in moments of self-loathing as we walked merrily up the fashionable bleeker street or promenaded down 5th avenue, for the most part..i held it together.

success on vacation is the culmination of multiple, healthy choices. turning down a cream-ridden dessert (not appetizing anyways), in favor of a delightful espresso with a tad bit of cream and a small biscotti. indulging in pinkberry, vegan chocolates, and a vegan cupcake (!) - and choosing healthy alternatives to eating out (a fun excursion to whole foods, followed by a picnic in central park). had i been alone, my diet would inevitably have been more austere, but a happy balance was definitely achieved.

new challenges:

the last week at home is always the hardest. morale is down. the temptation is to say: 'what's done is done. this is what i've accomplished. the best i can do is try and semi keep it up during the year'. NO. no no no. this year, i will say: 'i made great progress this summer. the road to health never ends, school is just another opportunity to further my quest'. throughout the summer, i am able to make healthy advancements because i keep trying new things. the challenge for this week is to ensure that i still have that gusto for healthy experimentation once back in toronto.

- accept my reliance on AM exercise (i've realized i NEED it to get my day off to a good start - and the best way to embrace this 'addiction' is to allow for a brisk 20 min workout every morning)
- new exercise videos are a must (no more trouble zones doesn't really fit into this 'brisk' niche since i still gym it up in the PM)
- work on combatting my social phobias surrounding food (just say 'no, thanks - i'm eating vegan today')
- focus on a low-carb, balanced food week (eating vegan didn't really do it for me as i excessively increased carbs and fat, without sufficient protein, but i'm glad i tried!)
- reinstate the monster

current obsessions:

moving to new york, yacon syrup, nutritional yeast, developing an everyday 'uniform', evening walks