Life Lately

It's been quite a while since I've done one of these posts, but always fun to update you guys on the daily happenings and what's going on in my life lately. It's been a busy couple months to say the least! Lots of updates and new stuff going on that I can't wait to fill you all in on! You can also see daily updates on my Instagram. 

In case for some reason you do NOT follow me on Instagram, you may not know about this update... We adopted a PUP!!! Her name is Luna, and we are beyond obsessed with this little girl. We've had her for about 4 months now, so this isn't new news, but wanted to make sure you guys all knew about it. We found her via Rescue Dogs Rock (an adoption agency in NYC), who were absolutely wonderful to work with. I'd highly recommend them if you're looking to adopt - they've got over 150 dogs available and some amazing options. Luna has settled in so well in NYC, and loves snuggles 24/7 (she sleeps with us every night and if we're on the couch, so is she). She already has numerous nicknames, which consist of: The Lune, Looney, Luna the Tuna, Toons, Tuna, Little Fish (don't ask), and the list goes on.

Here's another shot... Just because.

It was FREEZING in NYC over the weekend - almost unbearable with the wind! I trekked out to Brooklyn to do my absolute favorite workout class with a friend of mine. (Wearing this coat and these boots). 

I've had such a travel bug lately. Nick and I were gone every single weekend in December - it was a bit ridiculous. One of the highlights was our weekend at this amazing dog friendly hotel in Vermont. Look at how happy Luna is on our road trip!! I've been carrying this bag non-stop since I got it for Christmas. It is just to DIE for. I wish I could have every color. These shoes are also the perfect travel flat! Coming up on the travel list is Vermont this weekend, Telluride in the beginning of February, Cuba in April, and then Napa Valley in May! Also if you're looking for some travel inspiration as well as the best road trip idea EVER, check out this post. 

If you know me, you know I practically live on avocado toast (we eat it for dinner at least once a week if not more). This one is gluten free bread coated with coconut oil and a healthy dose of mashed avocado. I throw some hemp seeds on the avocado with a bit of himalayan salt, and a soft fried or poached egg on top. It is SO. GOOD. My new year's resolution this year is to clean up my diet even more. I've cut out gluten, limited dairy, and eliminated all refined sugars. Read more about some simple ways to get healthy and get your body back on track here!

Another goal of mine is to improve my yoga practice, which to me means to start nailing the inversions! I signed up for an inversion workshop in NYC in February - join me!

I got new shades, and I'm obsessed. They're so perfect (and were also on sale)! The above is a shot from our trip to Naples for New Years eve. We had such a blast relaxing, going to the beach, and checking out the local fitness scene. I love visiting local yoga studios - they're all so unique and usually end up being quite awesome. If you're ever in Naples, definitely go to the Yoga Loft. I LOVED the heated power yoga!!

I made my famous Kombucha cocktails for New Year's Eve and they were a hit. If you're looking to have a drink, this is a super refreshing way to have a cocktail without the bad side effects or guilt. I'll post the recipe this week for you guys, so stay tuned!

We FINALLY got some snow in NYC. There is nothing I love more than this city blanketed in some fresh snow. So beautiful.

This was a super popular outfit of mine this month, and also one of my favorites. Funny thing tough was that it was something I just threw on last minute since I was trying to dress a little better than the leggings and oversized sweaters I had been wearing to work on repeat. I get in a little style rut in the winter sometimes because I tend to be on the cold side all the time, so the only things I like to wear are warm, soft, cozy, bulky, heavy items. Luckily for me (and unlucky for my wallet), I discovered Kit & Ace last year, which I am absolutely ADDICTED to. I got the scarf wearing here from them last year, but they have this version now, and a ton of great stuff on sale too. I may have just ordered these sweats as a birthday present to myself... Now I'll officially be wearing sweats to work on the reg. Sorry I'm not sorry!

Adding on to the athleisure obsession above... I stumbled across Brazil Wear leggings recently, as well as a few other workout brands. I really have found myself just living in leggings and cozy sweats recently, but maybe that's due to the winter weather... I'm so excited that brands are coming out with some really awesome pieces that make you want to wear them outside of the gym! A few on my list are these awesome zipper leggings (NEED!!!) and this striped pair that have gone viral via Instagram. I have one go-to pair that I legitimately wear almost every day of the week (embarrassing - but I own more than one pair I swear!), which are the Lululemon Align pant. These are the softest, best leggings I've ever put on my body. Buy them.

Last but not least, I wanted to fill you all in on some of my favorite scents I've come across recently. I've heard of Byredo, but never purchased because it was a bit on the pricey side. I had a friend who had about 10 of them, so I was recently trying on all the different scents. I fell in LOVE with "Mojave Ghost". Literally the best thing I've ever smelled. I know perfumes are pretty toxic, so I try to mix it up a bit with essential oils as well. The Ajai roll-on above is the most incredible scent. I also love Tata Harper's stress remedy for days I'm feeling a little wound tight.

The Best Healthy Restaurants in NYC

Healthy food is not hard to come by these days in NYC. I feel like a new, amazing, farm to table type restaurant pops up every week, which really is quite incredible. It makes me so happy to be able to walk out my door and 5 minutes later be at a place where I can trust the food, the people that work there, and not worry about where it was sourced from or whether or not it is filled with chemicals and hormones.

I do try to cook, but busy life in NYC (plus an incredibly small kitchen), make it really hard to find time to do so. Below are a few of my absolute favorite healthy places to eat around the city. A lot of them are take-out/to-go type places, which is great for those of us who just don't have time to take a seat and chill (something I've been working on). Pay attention to where your food is coming from people! Trust me, it's worth it for your long term health.

Sweetgreen (various locations)

I go out of my way to get Sweetgreen far too frequently. I love that they source ingredients from local vendors. Plus, everything is organic, non GMO, hormone free, etc. They have a ton of pre-made delicious bowls, but I usually make my own. My go-to is the kale/wild rice base, with avocado, chicken, carrots, whatever other veggies/fruits are in season, and the pesto vinaigrette. It is HEAVENLY.

By Chloe (Greenwich Village)

This is my (somewhat healthy) guilty pleasure, as you can see from the photo. By Chloe is of the best vegan restaurants I have ever tried, and people know it. This place, no matter what time of day, has a line out the door, so you either need to plan for that, or order via Postmates, which is what I usually do. Their pastas are to die for - I get the gluten free mac and cheese (shown above), but the avocado pesto pasta comes in a close second. The air fried sweet potato fries are the next best thing, especially dipped in the chipotle mayo. What I love about this place is that it is "boyfriend approved". My guy ordered the guac burger recently, which is made of sweet potato, quinoa and black beans, and it tasted almost better than an actual burger (but not quite). Still, it was the best vegan burger I've ever tasted, and he loved it!

The Little Beet Table (& The Little Beet) (various locations)

I frequented Little Beet when I used to work in mid-town, but more recently, I finally tried Little Beet Table. Both restaurants are 100% gluten free, but you'd never know this because everything is so delicious! The brunch menu is just to die for, making it extremely hard to choose what to get. I'd recommend their green pea guac (I know - doesn't that sound incredible??), the buttermilk pancakes, and the banana bread is an absolute must. This place is the perfect spot to take mom, your girlfriends, or even do a quick work lunch.

Inday (Flatiron)

Inday has the most unique ingredients out of any of these places. I love how their options change week to week, and my plate always looks like a beautiful rainbow when I go there. Inday is an Indian themed cuisine, but you don't have to like Indian to go there. You can create your own bowl with their shredded cauliflower rice or fermented quinoa, plus a protein and sides. I'm obsessed with their coconut chutney too.

Dig Inn (various locations)

Yet another one of the best to-go restaurants, Dig Inn is very similar to the others I've mentioned. They do the typical market plate, where you choose your main protein and a couple sides. Their chicken and salmon is absolutely delicious though - some of the best I've tried, plus their sides change almost daily, and they always involve avocado, which wins me over every time.

The Butchers Daughter (Nolita & West Village)

The perfect brunch spot to feel like you're treating yourself, and yet, it's super healthy, organic whole food. Grab one of their wellness lattes, cold pressed juices, smoothies, or shots, and have a delicious, yet guilt free meal. They have all the best brunch plates that I always crave, like avocado toast, acai bowl, coconut yogurt and granola, plus pesto/micro kale pizza! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Plus, it's the cutest outdoor spot to take a few friends on the weekend for a sit down meal.

Dimes (Chinatown)

This is one of the most fun and unique out of them all. It's tucked away on Canal street down in China town, so it's a trek for most people, although totally worth it. They serve all meals, but most importantly, they serve cocktails! I love how fun and different their cocktails are, for example, the kale margarita and dandelion wine. A healthy way to treat yourself? I'll take it. 

Hu (Union Square & UES)

Another one of my top favorites! I swing by this spot at least once a week, and never fail to pick up their paleo chocolate chip cookies or the pumpkin parfait. For dinner, I always go for the "make your own bowl" station, where you can choose the base, protein and toppings. Do we see a pattern here? I seem to always pick this option... The thing about Hu though, is that you need to be careful about what you order. I've tried a few things there that I'm just not a fan of, like their "bread" for instance. Their lasagna is pretty good, but you need to actually like eating healthy to enjoy it (it just tastes healthy)... If that makes any sense at all? You can't really go wrong with their desserts, hot drinks, almond crusted chicken tenders, and of course the bowl station. Yum!

A few others that I love or are on my to-do list are below:

• Springbone Kitchen
• Gingersnap Organic
• Good Thyme
• Beyond Sushi
• Blossom Du Jour
• Souen
• Dirty Candy
• Jack's Wife Freda
• Avant Garden

Images taken by myself & via 1/2/3/4/5/6

Hello Again!

Sorry for the (8 month?) radio silence. It's been a while... Honestly, I just didn't really feel like posting. I lost my creative inspiration for a little bit there, so why force it when it doesn't feel right? On top of that, I've had an extremely busy summer, a lot of changes happening, and some other not so fun stuff. Blogs are usually these pretty little inspirational places on the internet that we visit. They tend to reflect the beautiful things in life and highlights of our lives. But what they don't usually reflect is the tougher stuff - the struggles, the hardships... Those are things that most people don't share, and that I too, don't post about. But the result of everything that's been happening over the past year is a good one. I have very exciting news: I am going to back to school to become a certified holistic health coach! This week, I started my year long course at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. To explain how this came to be, there is a little bit of a background story...

At the age of 19 (about my sophomore year in college), I developed psoriasis. There is no rhyme or reason for why it started when it did, nor how it started. Plus, doctors really don't know what causes it. Most importantly, having an autoimmune disease means your body is out of whack - and that there is some type of imbalance. Getting to the bottom of this imbalance is the hard part because it takes a TON of trial and error, and there is no solution that works for everyone. For the first few years, I went to the typical dermatologist. Excuse me while I get on my soap box for a second but in western medicine, doctors just prescribe something to take care of the issue immediately. Prescriptions are like a band aid - they are quick fix, but they don't cure the underlying problem. As soon as you stop using them, the condition comes back, sometimes even worse. I'm all for going to see the doctor for a broken bone, but what I've learned on this journey is that the creams, pills, etc. don't do a damn thing other than make these type of conditions worse. They only wreak havoc on your body and throw your system more off balance. Since there is no "cure" for autoimmune issues, doctors are just taking an educated guess. 

Now, I haven't had a flare up since 2012, until this summer, which was when I decided to try and get to the bottom of this, in a more holistic and natural way. I ditched the prescriptions and instead began to change the way I approached my diet as well as the products I use. I started seeing a functional doctor (shout out to Parsley Health - if any of you are in the NYC area, you absolutely should go see Dr. Berzin, she's incredible!). In short, functional medicine gets to the root of the problem. It looks at your whole medical history and starts at the very beginning (like literal beginning - any health conditions you've had since day 1). We began with an elimination diet; removing dairy and gluten. I ended up loving the diet and didn't want to enter the gluten and dairy back in! It was so easy to just go without it - I felt great, lighter almost (or course I lost a few lbs), and my skin felt great too. I still very rarely eat dairy (it doesn't have positive effects on the skin), and I avoid gluten whenever possible (it has no benefits for you anyway!).

Dr. Berzin also took a full blood test to check the levels of pretty much everything (vitamins, minerals, hormones, etc.) and boy was that an eye opener. We discovered that my hormones were totally out of whack - like not even close to normal. Well, I went off birth control about a year and a half ago but before I was on it, I never had a regular period. I remember my OBGYN telling me years ago that it was no biggie, and that I might need help getting pregnant in the future, but to not worry at all about it and that birth control would fix it. What a bunch of crap that was. Again, birth control was just covering up the bigger issue. Without going into too much detail, in 3 months, through supplementation, tweaking my diet and my activity level, Dr. Berzin got my hormone levels completely back down to a normal and healthy level. I'd also recommend Alisa if you are having any kind of "woman issues". A little more about her here.

I'll wrap it up now since this is starting to become a novel. Over the past year or so, I learned a few things. Functional medicine is incredible - I would recommend it to anyone who just wants to improve their quality of life or feel even a little better. I believe it's the future of our health care. If anything, you will learn a ton about yourself and your health. Having an autoimmune disorder has been eye opening to me in so many ways, and yet I have so much more to learn and explore. It all starts with the way you eat and treat your body - your diet, your physical activities, and your mental health. I've never felt better in my own body in my whole life, and I attirubte that to my diet and lifestyle changes I've made over the past year or so. And that is how I came to be enrolled in IIN. 

How will the blog change? I'm planning to do a lot more health oriented posts, whether its about natural beauty, recipes, or just posts on products I love or have discovered. I still plan to do style posts (I FINALLY took some photos again last weekend so stay tuned for those), and I still love to shop (obviously)! Unfortunately, I now have about 10 hours of "school work" each week, so I probably won't be posting too much, but still, I'm very excited to be back at it!  

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