I’m feeling the general consensus, from many friends and a few acquaintances, that 2009 was terrible. That they’re ready for it to be over. That whatever 2010 has in store, it’ll sure as hell be better than what 2009 had planned. And yet, in the process of wishing for time to pass quickly, ’tis the season of reflection and resolution: How we’re going to spend more time volunteering, cooking, spending quality time with family and friends, etc. … and less time focused on 140-character status updates and waiting in lines (because, really, you can buy just about...

Yoga has helped me figure out a lot of things. For one, that even people over six feet tall can touch their toes. (So yes, that means you can, too, with enough practice and encouragement.) One night, one lesson, one nugget of insight stands out in particular, though. Usually overflowing with bad jokes we can’t help but laugh at, my yogi was overflowing with wisdom, sharing with us his tidbits of knowledge as we struggled through Baddha Parivritta Parshvakonasana. His words became my mantra for the next hour — mostly just so I wouldn’t forget to write down what he said. He prefaced...

I remember falling in love with Frou Frou’s Let Go after seeing Garden State in 2004, and continued falling more and more in love with the track (and, frankly, with the entire album) after each play of the film’s soundtrack. (Honestly, who didn’t? That must be one of the best movie soundtracks of all time.) That one song marked the beginning of something. I don’t remember if I already had Frou Frou’s Details album (2002) — Imogen Heap’s and Guy Sigsworth‘s short-lived duo project — buried in my then-unmanageable iTunes library (hellllloooo college),...

One of my favorite non-profits in San Francisco, About-Face, is on a mission to make a difference in how women see themselves. It’s no secret that pages of glossies, gossip mags, blogs and tabloids are overridden with airbrushed photos and images of women who were already too thin to begin with. And yet what are we doing about it? Nothing. Or, well, barely anything. (The April issue of French Elle is an astonishing exception.) Even the efforts to impose minimum weight requirements on (runway) models seems to be going nowhere, and we continue to see the same manipulated images — the most...

Having spent the bulk of the day in South Kensington and experiencing overwhelming nostalgia, I feel like I’m falling in love with this city all over again. Liz and I got to the V&A not long after it opened. She went upstairs to textiles, and I made a b-line for the fashion collection. I think my neck is still sore from looking down at all the placards explaining the significant of each piece. *sigh* 1988 Moschino Bra Dress 1959 Jacques Heim Gown Not knowing exactly what to explore after 45 minutes of making a slow circle around cases of enclosed dressing and evening gowns, vintage wedding...

Liz and I took the day to embrace our picture-taking skills, put some wear on our sneakers and enjoy London’s mid-May intermittently blue sky. We ended up at a smattering of typical tourist spots to supply proof that, yes, we saw the things one sees when you visit London. Such as … … Big Ben and … … a body of water within a huge, green park leading to another something rather notable and crowded (this is the case for just about every London park, am I wrong?) — this one so happens to be St. James’ Park. Yes, we took a brief stop at Buckingham Palace,...

After less than twelve hours on the ground, London already feels like home again. The streets, the trees, the double-ring on the other line when you make a call. Narrow staircases and sidewalks, the circus-esque patterned and colored velour lining the tube’s seats. Walking through M&S carrying a wire basket — knowing you can only buy what you can actually carry home. How quickly it’s all coming back. Liz and I had a safe — and what felt relatively quick — flight over, more comfortable and able to sleep thanks to a last-minute seat upgrade (from middle-middle to...

My 5 minutes of eFame Six weeks ago, a small CBS production crew (all of three guys) showed up to my humble abode for an all-day shoot that eventually became this video. They were 30 minutes early. I literally opened the door in wet hair and my purple fuzzy bathrobe. After replying to an inquiry on Help a Reporter Out, and emailing back and forth with Kate Ashford, the freelance writer, the producer, and the financial planner, this video (as well as two print pieces still to come) started to come together. An Insider’s Look to the Whole Process At first, they weren’t sure what angle...

After the let down of California actually passing Prop 8, it’s nice to finally have equality and gay rights represented in the dictionary. Yup, that’s right. Merriam-Webster officially included a secondary definition of the term “marriage” to recognize homosexual relationships. While they officially defined it back in 2003, and other dictionaries even earlier, the news is only now receiving hype thanks to a post on (uber conservative) World Net Daily on Tuesday. While the redefinition doesn’t provide homosexuals with the rights they need to actually get married in...

So instead of attending San Francisco’s Twestival, on Thursday night I spent about $90 and came out ahead with one pair of leather boots, patent peep toes and a delicious meal of Mexican food with close friends. It may not have been exactly what Twestival promised—a $20 charitable donation for a night of networking, social schmoozing and an opportunity to match actual faces with people’s Twitter avatars—but my shopping excursion was well worth it and gave my morale a hefty boost. Sadly, this San Francisco-based handbag & shoe company known for its delicious leathers,...