My new project - for non-existent spare time.

OK, so I have professed my girl crush for AB Chao and her design acumen and general Louisiana girl awesomeness.  Well, she has inspired me to hit our guest bedroom HARD with some design style.  I do not profess to have any design acumen of my own, but with her guidance, and guidance from her bloggy friends, I will create something.  Hopefully something nice.  I really want to abandon tan and khaki and EMBRACE colors.  My dear, dear husband is a wonderful man, but he really loves brown, tan, khaki and everything in between.  I have tried, in all my decorating endeavors to include him in decisions, but I have decided at last that this is the one room I want complete design control over.  When I'm done, he will realize that he has been wrong to live in a tan world all these years.  

So on our local craigslist, Woodlandsonline.com, I have been scouting some interesting furniture pieces that I can paint a great color to add to my design.  I'm really digging painted furniture right now.  Here are some examples:

From Martha Stewart

From The Southern Eclectic

I found a cute piece on WOL, but I'm not going to fall in love with it yet, since someone might snatch it up... As usual, I will keep you posted. 

My Yoga Tour of North Houston

Alrighty, yoganista peeps, I have decided that in the interest of blog science I must try EVERY yoga studio and class in North Houston.  While this may seem daunting, it is not.  If only because there is a dire lack of yoga-ness up here.  North Houston = South Boonies.  So far I have tried Cherry Blossom Yoga and The Woodlands Anusara Yoga Studio.  Truly, I really enjoyed both.  I have been doing yoga in gyms and at home for the past 10 years.  I have really gotten serious about my yoga in the past year or two, and I'm feeling the need to put myself in an environment that is more serene and allows me to really focus.  Going to a dedicated yoga studio allows that, and so I think any studio I go to will be an improvement for me. 

I tried an intro to Ashtanga class at Cherry Blossom.  It was challenging enough to make it worth the trip, which was significant.  I imagine a full 90 minute Ashtanga class would be very challenging.  Perfect.

The Anusara Yoga class was a little more intense.  I know a significant number of asana's sanskrit names, but I had a hard time keeping up because the teacher used almost all sanskrit names.  Good and bad.  Good because I love learning the Sanskrit, but bad b/c it kind of broke up my flow.  And the Anusara style is a bit different.  Not bad, but different.  And they chant a invocation at the start of class which was new for me.  But we did lots of inversions, which I LURV so I was totally happy with it.  In fact, they are offering an intensive that I'm considering. 

So I have a few more teachers I want to try at these studios, and there is another studio I recently found that offers yoga and guided meditation.  Bonus: it is right next to the girls' gymnastics studio.  Buuuuuut.... they do offer Zumba and other aerobics classes so I do wonder a little if it will be the same as doing yoga at the gym.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my teacher at the gym, love her, and the class is great, but if I'm going to get the same effect then I will just use the classes I'm already paying for.  Anyway, I will report back!  Your girl Friday, on the beat!

My new girl crush...

I am in LOVE with this chick.  Chic chick.  I love her designs and I love even more that she is into bargain shopping.  Her High/Low posts are genius.  Genius, I tell ya!  This is a girl who waxes poetic about a beach vacation that includes the Florabama, loves crawfish and beer and drinks Miller High Life.  And she is from FUN-roe!  Need I say more?  OK, so maybe I made her sound a little like Britney Spears Louisiana t-rash, but she so is not.  Check her out. Happy stylin', y'all!

AB Chao

Hoop De Doo!

I found this in Yoga journal today: Hooping Yoga

Looks fun!  I wonder if there is anyone around here who teaches this.  Apparently there is Hoopilates, too.  Much like my beloved Jumpilates.

OH! And I can't forget!!

My most favoritest YouTube sensation...

http://hartoandco.com/my-drunk-kitchen/

Check it!

A little Houston running luv...

Houston got a little running shout-out by it's own Houston Chronicle.  Of course, this little comment isn't exactly a shining commendation: "I don't think I would say it's on the same level as New York or Boston or London or any of the majors, but it's both for the pros who can use it as a stepping stone up the ladder and also for the recreational runners."  Yeah.  We are a stepping stone! 

In other running news, you can "like" The Woodlands Marathon on facebook here, and register for it here!  I'm probably going to do the whole.  Who's with me!  Well probably no one since I haven't really released this blog yet.