It’s a fantastic online magazine about fashion, cool living and all that hip chicks like us need to know… and for you hip dudes out there, it’s also quite informative. So, go ahead and click on Chic Today and then check out the article I wrote by going to the “Contents” tab under the Givenchy ad to the left, and then clicking on “Valentine and the Single Girl”. N-joy!

For a great oatmeal soak, try Biggs & Featherbelle’s Beauty Soak, with buttermilk and honey. Check them out at the BiggsandFeather website.

I love Kiehl’s body moisturizer, which does require a tiny bit of drying time, but will keep your skin soft for a whole day. They also offer some rockin’ face masks for every type of skin.

For good essential oils try Aromaweb a full resource with info and recipes, as well as where to buy the oils.

And click on Sephora for the best selection of fragrant, foamy bubble baths.

For music, check Hindi music on Itunes. There are a couple of Happily Unmarried Ever After Imixes there, with two selections I always listen to. Once you get on Itunes, follow the trail to the Imix link.

It has been hard for me to come up with the Adventures column during these winter months. I must still be the same adventurous, life-loving, wanderer girl I am during the summer months, but somehow the winter really drains my physical resources and causes me to hibernate a bit. I end up staying home very often in the evenings, I read more, I watch more of my favorite Hindi films and basically dream of the spring, when the cherry trees will blossom and life will begin to take place outside again. So, with the bitter month of February ahead - and this year it even has one extra chilly day - I figured I would share some of my favorite indoor activities and health tips for winter survival. It would be ideal to spend a couple of days playing hookie from work and just finding an inner balance and warmth again. I think I might just do that soon. Nowhere to go, the house fully stocked with all kinds of great, rich foods - the body needs fats during this drying time of year - a few bottles of red wine, some chocolates, a good collection of Bollywood DVDs and books with stories that take place in warm, tropical climates. Follow me as I help you discover the hidden pleasures of winter.

KEEPING THE BODY HEALTHY

I usually run around the park for exercise, but during the winter months I find my body really tires and I need something more calming like yoga, to stretch the muscles and allow the nerves to be soothed. The whole purpose of this week’s entry is to enjoy staying home, so going to a yoga studio to practice just doesn’t make sense. Learn a few easy poses, like the Sun Salutation, the Warrior 1, 2 and 3, the balancing Tree, the Bridge - lying on the floor, a couple of the stretches to cool down and then meditate, either lying down in a comfortable pose, or even while sitting cross legged. There are easy, inexpensive books out there that simplify yoga, if you have never been in class environment to practice. Or try out this cool Santosha website with an extensive list of poses and levels of difficulty. Anyway, if you can do so, practice it in the morning, when the sun begins to rise, which, according to Ayurvedic principles, gets your internal clock to match the outside time. It is warming to do a Sun Salutation first, maybe repeating it a couple of times, increasing the depth of the breath and the speed. After your practice, I suggest drinking a full glass of room temperature water, with a packet of Emergen-C. This is again warming and does stimulate a lazy digestion, if you do suffer from that sometimes. I find that as good as my digestive system and overall health are in the summer, the winter just makes everything sluggish and difficult. Anyway, after your water, take a nice hot shower and if possible, exfoliate the body about three times a week, with either a salt or sugar scrub. Trader Joe’s offers both for just under $7 each, with all natural ingredients and great scents to boot. In the evenings, do indulge in some hot chocolate, but if you don’t feel like having the heaviness of milk, use Soy Milk instead. I prefer mine vanilla flavored as it adds to the taste of the cocoa. Of course, for good cocoa, refer to the Chocolate Corner section of this blog.

FUN ACTIVITIES

I grew up in Italy where taking a bath was a true luxury. I mean, dad would have to go and turn on the furnace, then put in the coal, and then we would all wait anxiously by the tap to check for the required water temperature to arrive, pouring through the shower spout. I am not exaggerating, taking a bath would be something we only did on Sundays, or on very special occasions. Then, I got a bad case of dry skin and my dermatologist prescribed daily baths with oatmeal, to calm the itching and the flakiness. That’s when I stopped looking forward to the luxury of bathing, as it just became too much of a good thing. But these days, with my gigantic 1930s tub, I have grown to love the activity once more and actually look forward to being home alone, on a cold, dark winter afternoon, and taking a fragrant bath. I start out with a good oatmeal soak - this helps my still somewhat dry skin - and end with a great moisturizer. But in between, I try anything from a true, extra foamy bubble bath, to ylang ylang or even rose otto essential oils. Adding a gallon of milk to the bath water is also really luxurious and helps with hydrating the skin. Or pour in some rose water for a true lady bath. Just be inventive and let your nose be your guide. If you feel stuffed up or congested, eucalyptus oil is great. You can even put on a face mask while soaking in the tub. And don’t forget some great music on your Ipod. For all the resources, click on The List to the top right.
Then, after your bath, stay warm by drinking your favorite tea, or even a nice glass of earthy red wine. Pick up your favorite book and relax under a blanket to allow the body to come back to its normal temperature and recoup from the indulgence. I enjoy reading books that take me far away from cold NYC during this time of year. I recently finished “The Inheritance of Loss” by the talented and heartwarming Kiran Desai, and I highly recommend it. But even “Love in the Time of Cholera” by Marquez works really well, with its Caribbean feel and passionately restrained character. Other choices would include anything and everything about India. I am nothing if not one-dimentional about my likes! Get the titles on Amazon.
Lets say you still have some energy left and wish to continue on with this fantastically fun evening, then pop in a Bollywood film. You can get them easily on Netflix and their selection should last you a long time. Start with the one film which started it all for me “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham” but remember to keep tissues ready, if you have a heart. Then, move on to more intense films such as “Dil Chahta Hai” and “Dil Se…”, or even “Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna”. You will be left wanting for more, I guarantee it. Now, if you still have any fire in you left, after this totally full afternoon of self-entertainment, then have a hot chocolate and watch useless TV. Something really dumb and ideally only half an hour long, which will put you sleep. So, I said to take a couple of days off from work to do this… Well… You could cram it all in one day, but it does get even more fun on day two, and three… You get the picture. Remember my credo, throughout all this, being alone does not mean being lonely. N-joy!

… While We Still Can.

This past week I have been thinking a lot about the Writers’ Strike. I mean, it’s not only those individuals who write for movies and television who have been out of work since November 5th. It’s also all those technical people like the electricians, stage hands and even bit players who depend on steady industry work to live. It’s a sad, sad situation, and all due to greed. Far be it for me to take sides - hum… I wonder what with having the writing bug myself, whomsoever would I side with?! - but it is quite horrible to think that there might only be a few foreign films on the big screen come fall, and maybe a couple of mediocre low budget movies that would never have been watched otherwise. I have to admit that I have been doing quite well without TV and started to catch up on my reading, particularly on Monday evenings when “24″ would have typically been on. But I do dread the film season ahead, so I am planning to catch up on the few masterpieces still out there. OK, so maybe a couple of them aren’t masterpieces but they are still quite fun for a perpetually romantic girl like me.

Woody Allen’s “Cassandra’s Dream” is the last installment of his British trilogy. I thoroughly enjoyed the other two - “Scoop” and “Match Point” - so I don’t doubt the entertainment quotient of this one. Out right now, catch it at a theater near you.

Amy Redford’s “The Guitar” is the story of a young woman who loses her job, gets dumped by her boyfriend and finds out she only has two months to live, all in one day. Instead of wallowing in self pity, she goes shopping. Maxes out her credit cards, fills her apartment with amazing objects and generally lives it up, NYC style. Ms. Redford does come from great directing genes, she is the daughter of Robert Redford, and the sets are apparently fantastically lavish - post shopping trips - so the film is a definitely must-see. Check out the movie’s website for more info at The Guitar.

“27 Dresses” by first time director Anne Fletcher might not be your idea of a greatly intellectual film - it isn’t mine either, so don’t worry - but promises to be highly entertaining and visually appealing, thanks to some brilliant casting. Katherine Heigl is pretty and cool at the same time and she makes me yearn to be a bridesmaid, just so I can wear one of those horrific dresses as elegantly as she does. Also playing at a theater near you.

Rob Reiner’s “The Bucket List” is to male bonding movies, what “27 Dresses” is to chick flicks. For the most part, Mr. Reiner has not directed any bad movies, though some might argue me wrong. But even when they stretch the limits of our patience or the amount of imagination we possess, they are always entertaining. So, check out two of the best actors the world has to offer, Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, with a lovely turn by Sean Hayes of “Will and Grace” fame. Playing near you.

Well, these days chocolate can be found almost everywhere. I mean, it’s in our beloved department stores, who are all falling over each other to open some variation of a “Chocolate Bar” and it’s in many a Chocolate Martini, even if some leave something to be desired. It is even on Facebook, with some of the groups being nearly 50,000 strong, as far as membership. I mean, obviously chocolate is here to rule… even on FB. So, check out Chocolate = Love group or Addicted to All Things Chocolate group and don’t forget to join, as all chocolate lovers should come together, even if just on a virtual level. But remember, you need to be on Facebook to access all the fun, so go ahead, JOIN!