In the last two weeks, we’ve burned through our TerraPass carbon offsets, traveling across the country for a college graduation, an inurnment ceremony and a birthday. While each was a can’t-miss occasion, we’re now longing for an escape of our own — nothing but pure R&R, 24/7. In fact, if we were eligible, we would enter our VIV It Up in Fiji sweepstakes for a chance to win the trip of a lifetime: a week-long getaway to the exclusive Wakaya Club & Spa!
As swimsuit season approaches, we’re looking for ways to cut calories here and there. But artificial sweeteners seem so … artificial. Stevia zero-calorie sweeteners have been touted as more natural than aspartame and are getting a lot of attention now that they’ve been approved as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The sweetness of stevia is extracted from the leaves of a plant native to Paraguay and Brazil, and the sweetener already is used widely in Japan.
We’ve heard the instructions “draw your navel to your spine,” “close your rib cage,” and “keep your shoulders and pelvis vertically stacked” hundreds, if not thousands, of times in our years of Pilates and other core-conditioning classes. And, frankly, we’re still not sure whether we’re doing it right. Now, a new stylish line of fitness garb promises some help. Rese Activewear boasts its tops and bottoms have “built-in personal trainers,” and that’s only a bit of an overstatement.
Mark Twain once quipped, “Golf is a good walk spoiled.” No matter the state of your game, there’s no place better to take that walk than on the grounds of beautiful golf resorts — from Bermuda to Patagonia.
We recently returned from the 48th annual chicken-cooking contest in San Antonio, TX, where nine finalists — all home cooks — competed for the grand prize of $50,000. In the heat of the Culinary Institute of America’s kitchen, we watched various chicken parts turn into lemony chicken panzanella, honey-hoisin chicken thighs, and panko-crusted chicken salad with pomegranate balsamic dressing. The contestants all happened to be women, whose chicken recipes had won top honors in their states.
Language classes at the French Institute Alliance Française in New York City and a recent lunch date with friends who have a home in the Loire Valley have renewed our yearning for a French getaway. And in light of all the recent eco-minded news we’ve been sharing, we were pleased to come across Dorian Yates’ Green Earth Guide: Traveling Naturally in France (North Atlantic Books, 2009), a new book for eco-minded travelers that includes tips and resources for green transportation, accommodations, eating and shopping.
Whenever chèvre is served at a party, we have to try very hard not to become one of those people who parks ourselves by the cheese plate for too long. (You know who you are!) Lately, we’ve been hearing more about the benefits of goat milk products thanks to G.O.A.T. (short for Greatest of All Time) — a collaboration by Mary Keehn of Cypress Grove Chevre, Laura Howard of Laloo’s Goat’s Milk Ice Cream and Jennifer Bice of Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery.
The summer months bring festival season, and the Napa Valley Festival del Sole July 17–25 celebrates three of our favorite pursuits — music, food and wine. The fourth annual weeklong festival, held at various locations with the gorgeous Napa Valley as its backdrop, features renowned classical musicians, fine cuisine, art exhibitions and tastings of wine from local vineyards.
A laptop, a change of clothes, a bottle of wine, books, groceries … we’ve pulled all of these items out of our purse on various occasions. And that’s not good, because overstuffed handbags not only lead to broken straps and misshapen purses, but also to back problems for those carrying them. Gerard W. Clum, D.C., president of Life Chiropractic College West in Hayward, CA, and spokesman for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, says that hefty handbags induce headaches and neck, shoulder and back pain. (More bad news for fashionistas — this spinal distress is exacerbated by high heels!) Many of Clum’s patients’ purses weigh as much as 15 pounds; he suggests whittling them down to 1–2 pounds.
We had the opportunity to attend the James Beard Foundation Awards ceremony — the Oscars of food — held at the Lincoln Center in New York City May 4. This year’s annual gathering of chefs, sommeliers, restaurateurs and other culinary professionals featured the theme of Women in Food, with all 22 food tables and 13 cocktail tables headed by female chefs and mixologists.
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