Random (healthy) Friday

Hi Everybody,

For the first time in a long time, someone else is covering Sewing Lounge (Thank You, Jessica!) and that has been a nice break for me: VERY good for my mental health.

And speaking of mental health...

I have been going to Baptiste-inspired yoga at Melanie's quite a bit lately. I love it lots. The studio space is amazing: not too big, not too small with no detail overlooked (I am nothing if not a details kind of gal). Plus Melanie plays really good music. She had me at the sheepskin rug on the floor and the Carla Bruni on the speakers.

But in all seriousness, the yoga feels so good: especially at this time of year when it is bitter cold and you just want to go someplace hot, hot, hot and sweat, sweat, sweat. Trust me, we do plenty of that.

The other activity I am loving these days is Zumba with my friend Francesca. I go to Zumba on the days I am not going to yoga and I love how opposite from one another they are. Zumba is held at the Come Fit Zone: a local-yokel, fun and funky studio that is housed in a converted gas station, if you can imagine such a thing.

At Zumba we listen to latin music and shake our booties and wiggle our hips (and usually go out for a drink afterwards, but that is beside the point) and for sixty minutes we are not a bunch of white ladies from Midcoast Maine, but instead we are sexy, mysterious, dancing Latinas.

At Zumba, I am constantly playing the Meringue lesson scene from "Dirty Dancing" in my head. You know: the one where Cynthia Rhodes says to the crowd of Catskills tourists: "Aw, come on, ladies! God wouldn't have given you maracas if he didn't want you to shake 'em!" I keep waiting for Francesca to bust out with that line, but so far nada.

Again, I think a lot of my love for the Zumba has to do with wanting to be some place hot and steamy during these winter months, and Zumba makes you feel like you're in Argentina or on the Mexican Riviera or sumpin'.

Between these two places (Yoga at Melanie's and Zumba with Francesca), I feel like I have FINALLY found an exercise routine that not only works for me, but that I actually look forward to. This is pretty much an alien feeling to me, but I am going to ride this wave, for sure.

I am very lucky that the scheduling works for me, too. So, thank you, Scheduling Gods, for smiling on me this one time.

Along these "healthy" lines, I have found a really yummy, healthy snack that I love. Little Lad's Herbal Corn. Just don't eat it in public (or while hovering over your keyboard) because the magic pixie dust they put in this stuff gets all over the place.

Aaannnddd... (drumroll, please...) I have been drinking lots more water lately. If you are a long-time reader of this blog you will know about my love/hate relationship with water. I know I'm supposed to drink lots of it, but I don't usually like it. Turns out all along the secret for me was to drink Sparkling Raspberry Lime water. Inexpensive and refreshing: especially when it's gone a little flat. So, that's kind of a breakthrough for me.

I didn't really set out to make all these changes in my life, they just kind of happened. I guess I am lucky that way, too. Not far behind the search for the perfect man were the searches for the perfect exercise routine, perfect healthy snack and perfect non-alcoholic beverage.

(So far, so good, 2011!)

And finally, to bring this whole post full circle and talk about something Alewives-y, we got our shipment of Cloud Nine's new "Nature Walk" collection today.























I heart Cloud Nine.

Especially this new collection.

I love the "Nature Walk" colors and I love that this collection is a little more mature and not so nursery-y.

I love that these fabrics are organic and good for the environment.

I love the price.

These fabrics are substantially less expensive than previous collections, especially when you consider that Cloud Nine is a small, organic company and that the cost of cotton has gone up so much this year, making these fabrics a total deal.

Kudos to you, Cloud Nine for actually lowering your prices when everyone else's prices are going up!

We bought the whole collection of 8 fabrics: you can find them listed individually, among other great organic fabrics on our "Organic Fabrics" page. And Jessica made fat quarter bundles today (Thank You Again, Jessica!).

So, I know this post is a little random, but hopefully not super-boring and full of all good, healthy things for a Friday night.

(How did that happen? Whose blog is this?)

Have a great weekend: don't forget Virtual Turning Twenty sign-ups are still open, and spaces are going fast!

XO,

Rhea