brunchity brunchity brunch brunch brunch

The advantage to having a dog with a body clock set to 6:30 am alarm is we can get to popular breakfast spots pretty early.  And so today we did just that, trying the aptly and wonderfully named Rochester Brunch House.
First of all, how cute!
Second, how delicious!
Third, how cute!

Yes, I'm easily amused but I liked the way the various benedict versions were called "Benny".  I had Crab Benny.  Poached eggs, crab cakes, hollandaise, tomato, fresh spinach.  See?  How delicious.

It used to be Smackwater when he left Lexington and then closed for whatever reason.  He always had good taste in buildings.  It would be nice to have easy access to the Smackwater Jack Sandwich, but I am in love with RBH.  I don't remember seeing a drinks menu, which (even if this may be embarrassing to say) a little Bloody Mary with my brunch never hurt anybody.

lily of the valley

I took Kazzy on a walk today, on the little nature trail here in the neighborhood.   I found a few stalks of these.  I can't see them without remembering my Grandma B, who always wore the Coty perfume "Muguet des Bois".  Lilies of the Valley were her favorite flower, as they were the favorite flower of my Grandma W.  My mother and father had them in their wedding bouquets.
I can't help but feel they were there just for me today, just for me to see them.   My father had surgery today, and my sister r is home for the first day after her surgery.   My Grandma B would want to let us know she was praying for them, my Grandma W would want to know of her presence.  My grandma B would want me to remember Psalm 23, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me".    
Yes, things could be a little scary right now.  But the lily comes along to remind us not to be afraid.
And so I took in their special  beauty.  Their special message for my family today.   Whatever one believes, one must always believe in Grandmas and love.

may 15

snowing
thankyouverymuch

intentional yoga

Finally got some yoga in my body! On my body? Through my body?  Whatever.

Went to the lovely Intentional Yoga in Rochester Hills.  Adam at Funky Buddha in Eastown told me about it and he was right. It was great yoga.
It was really hard to leave Corepower behind.  I loved taking yoga there, I loved teaching yoga there, I loved the other teachers, and I loved the students.  When I moved to Chicago from London, it was my yoga home from the first day.  I had signed up for teacher training with Corepower before ever stepping foot in a studio, and the minute I did step foot in there, I knew it was right.
Intentional Yoga felt very much like that today.   The owners were there, they introduced me to the teachers, gave me a tour, made me feel at home.
I took a class with Sarah- who, it turns out, is Corepower trained!  Class felt great.  The focus was on putting the vibrations out to the universe to attract what you want.  What I want.   I love that idea, the idea of positive energy attracting positive results, positive people, more positive energy.  It feels right to me.  I want my sister to be well, my husband to love his new job, my boys to be happy, and to find a wonderful new life here, as wonderful as all my other lives have been.

The class itself was fun and served well the idea of generating positive energy.  We did a really creative Sun A and a nice, breathy Sun B.  There was music and warmth and happiness and it just felt so very good.

I'm going back tomorrow for more of this wonderful place- a slow flow tomorrow.
I'll leave the quote Sarah read at the end of class, from Leonard Cohen's Anthem

Ring the bells that still can ring/Forget your perfect offering /There is a crack in everything /That's how the light gets in. 

Beautiful.

new carrrrr

For 9 of the last 13 years, I haven't even owned a car.  I've lived in big cities for those 9 years, and having a car seemed like such a burden.  So much stress.  But now that I'm back in the suburbs, having a car means ease.  I can go get food right away- no Instacart needed.  I can take yoga classes!  I can do almost anything!
Embarrassingly enough, I've been visiting the Detroit suburbs for all the years I dated Marc, and all the years we've been married.  Sadly, I have no idea where he takes me when we are here.  I've never driven here, I've always passenged*.  I have no idea if we are east, west, or north of the city.  I have no idea where the suburbs are that my friends live in.  I've always just gotten in a car and arrived. Luckily, my new car has a navigation system that I have decided to trust.  I actually drove home from the dealership yesterday all by myself- just my nav system and me.


My new keys are on my key ring from one of my favorite yoga client families in Chicago.  I miss them, and I miss teaching.  Hopefully I'll get back to all of that soon.  For now, one step at a time. And my step right now is driving around the Metro.   And making up words like passenged.

My brother-in-law Tim Carey of Star Lincoln found the MKC for me.

morning

When I was living in California and I'd slice an avocado, I would throw the pit onto the hillside garden in my back yard.  Just in case that was enough to get an avocado tree to grow there.  Of course it didn't work because it was a hare-brained scheme.

When I moved to London, avocados were harder to come by, but the hot restaurant down the street, Granger & Co, served a side of avocado with almost every breakfast. They would put a little sea salt on it and it made everything delicious.   I started doing that with my own breakfasts, once I moved back to the US and close to Trader Joe's with its always perfectly ripened Haas avocados.

It makes breakfast seem so luxurious, so fresh, and so filling.  Bread (here a bagel, but usually toast), egg, lemon, avocado, salt, and pepper. Oh, and butter.  A little sprinkle of chili pepper would have been good too.

And just like that, my morning is a little more beautiful.  Hello, my precious avocado.

hair color adventure #1027

A few weeks ago, I decided to try to color my own hair.  I was sad and my husband was out of town and Chicago was rain/snow/blizzarding, so I thought I'd go for it. How hard could it be?
I went to Walgreens to buy a specific highlighting kit, but for whatever reason decided to buy a box of all over color in 9N, whatever that meant.  What it meant was, I ended up with creamsicle-orange roots.   This was the beginning of my adventure.

Since then,  I have toned, highlighted, toned, used demi-permanent color, highlighted, toned, and used permanent color.  I eventually got my hair to a blonde that only leans to the  brassy with some actually fairly nice highlights.  It was an 8-step, 3-week process that would be hard to duplicate.  I began imagining my friends would ask me to do their hair for them.  I bet I could even balayage!  I could start my own YouTube channel like Guy Tang!

So....what did I do today?  I decided to follow the advice of some beauty bloggers and use purple shampoo. And, to be perfectly honest, I used a demi-permanent color mousse as a toner.   And now I have hair that is a little brassy, with a few navy blue highlights.  Not exaaaactly the look I was going for.

What I liked that I used:
Blondme Lifting Cream in Sand
Blondme Lifting Cream in Ice
Schwarzkopf Blondme Developer 30 vol
Schwarzkopf Igora Royal color in 8-11
Schwarzkopf Igora Developer 20 vol
Kerastase Oleo Relax serum

Almost all from sleekhair.com or Amazon.com

Anybody have any tips to help me with my hair adventure?

teal for r

Today my parents are headed out to Chicago to take care of my sister, R, who is herself headed into surgery tomorrow.  For ovarian cancer.

R is a nurturer and always has been.  She is also my big sister, so I got a lot of that nurturing.  When we were little, of course, but also at my age.  She is still the one where, if she is driving and we come to a quick stop, she'll jut her arm across me in the passenger seat so I won't be launched out the windshield (seatbelts aren't enough for big sisters!).  But now it is she who will need the care.

Of course, R would chose a cancer with an awareness ribbon that is one of my favorite colors.  Even in that, she has taken care of me.  And so I stand with her today, getting ready for tomorrow and all of her tomorrows.

moving

Here I am, moving again.  I always say I won't do it again, and then I do.  Let's see what challenges and adventures await.....