Ballet at 40 (a prelude)

I did it. I signed up for ballet.

Turning 40 this year (in October, to be exact) has got me thinking a lot about my body and what it can do. So far, I've been amazed. I can scale Half Dome solo. I am disciplined enough to earn a black belt. I have birthed two babies. And climbed to the top of a samurai castle in Japan with a 6-month-old strapped to my body. I do a beautiful cartwheel. I can achieve the 26 different positions required in Bikram yoga in a room heated at 104 degrees. I still do a perfect push up.

But the last time I stepped into a dance studio was almost 30 years ago. I am enamored of ballet. Those bodies. Those lines. The strength, agility and discipline it requires. Ballet is poetry of the body. And I secretly wish I was a ballet dancer.

Ballet at 40 is my new challenge. I will have my first lesson this fall. And I look forward to sharing my journey with you!
    

Dancer by Edgar Degas (c. 1877)

This week's obsession: yogurt drinks

It's hard to get my son to drink his milk. I don't know when it happened but one afternoon, I think when he was in preschool, he decided he didn't care for it anymore. Caden, who's now 8, has such a sensitive palate he can taste the difference between non-fat, 1%, 2% and my lactose-free milk. Admittedly, mealtimes can be a battle. 

But yogurt seems to be the neutral zone. He'll gladly have a small bowl at breakfast and even as a dessert after dinner. I recently discovered this wonderful concoction at Whole Foods and was immediately intrigued. I love Indian food and lassi, a traditional Indian-style yogurt smoothie, is heaven in a dairy drink. I brought two flavors home and presented them to Caden. In two minutes, he bottomed up the Mango Rosewater Lassi. 

Victory!

p.s. yogurt drinks are loaded with sugar so I offer it up as an incentive in addition to milk. Caden's not off the hook with the regular stuff.    


Why kids should drink milk. (The Washington Post)

And on the flip side, re-thinking the importance of milk. (US News & World Report)
     

Monday selfie (sort of)

I say "sort of" because technically it's not a selfie (but who's keeping tabs?). My eternally adorable and charming gal pal Bess (my go-to girl for the goings-on in Cleveland) convinced me to pose for this Instagram pic. I must say, she made me look quite glamorous (note: I had just inhaled two pancakes the size of my face at the time this photo was captured).  

The outfit: Fire Los Angeles jumpsuit; Bordeaux Lauretta cardigan; chunky beaded necklace and aviator sunglasses @ Anthropologie; Penny Loves Kenny T-strap wedge heels; L.A.M.B leather clutch; Stranger Tides nail lacquer by OPI.       

The occasion: Brunch at Jack Flaps with some of my favorite gals in Cleveland.

Why I like this look: At the top of my fashion must-have list is the jumpsuit. I found this one at TJ Maxx for $20 and decided it needed a home in my closet. The wedge heels were purchased the same afternoon at TJ Maxx (also 20 buckeroos). The L.A.M.B clutch was one of those triumphant discoveries at Nordstrom Rack several years ago (I think I spent $40). Which proves my theory that you don't have to spend a million bucks to feel like a million bucks.    


Thank you @bessmihyun for taking such a fab photo. :) XOXO

Links apr25

watch/see/read

• Brilliance is NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams rapping "Gin and Juice." (The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon)

• Call it for what it is, John. (The Daily Show with John Stewart)

• A Jewish photographer sees life through the eyes of Arab Israeli teenagers. (Slate)

• The Roots' Questlove waxes poetic about the decline of hip-hop. (Vulture)

• The daily routines of famous writers. (Brain Pickings)

On love

If I had a girls night out and could invite anyone, living or deceased, Susan Sontag would be at the top of my Evite. I would spend the entire evening picking her brain about art and pop culture and compare notes on things we find "so bad it's good." 

I came across this wonderful collection of illustrations inspired by Sontag's second volume of journals and notebooks. This quote, from On Love, is my favorite. 

              "Being in love means being willing to 
                ruin yourself for the other person."
                             
To love someone, to truly give yourself without expecting anything in return, to exchange selfish desire for sacrifice, to risk everything and all -- is to love. 


Illustration from "Susan Sontag on Love: Illustrated Diary Excerpts" by Maria Popova and Wendy MacNaughton. (Brain Pickings)