Just a quick update: my yoga blog, Luscious Yoga, is now live. This blog will be for all things yoga: selecting the right equipment, finding the right style, and defining yoga, its branches, and some of the terms. Please stop by and check it out!

I’ve mentioned before how much I love Sarah Addison Allen’s writing. Her books sparkle with magic, yet her characters are realistically flawed. In her latest novel, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, we meet young Emily, who, after the death of her mother, has gone to live with a grandfather she’s never met. A quiet giant, Grandpa Vance doesn’t know how to relate to Emily, and leaves her to her own devices. Adrift in the strange town of Mullaby, N.C., Emily retreats to her mother’s childhood room, where the wallpaper changes according to her mood. Captivated by magical lights in the forest and struggling to fit into a strange small town, Emily slowly begins to uncover the not-so-pretty truth about her mother’s past. Helping her through it are Win, a mysterious, bow-tie-wearing boy she’s ultimately forbidden from seeing, and next-door-neighbor Julia, who bakes away her own heartache, and whose pastries literally draw people to her.

As Emily, Win, Julia and Vance all deal with the demons of the past, they find that it’s not set in stone, and things might not be as bad as they seem. Is it possible that their futures might just be as bright as the mysterious Mullaby lights after all?

As the weather warms up (spring is finally here! hooray!) most people are naturally inclined to want to spend more time outside. After months of being cooped up indoors and buried under layers of sweats and blankets, we naturally crave sunshine, fresh air and lighter shoes! Spring is the perfect time to take your fitness routine outside, and while walking and jogging are easy, affordable options, there are a lot of other ways to get active outside.

1. Go hiking. Find a state park or nearby mountain/canyon and get your hike on! Just remember to wear sturdy, supportive shoes, layers to adjust for your changing temperature and sunblock. If you’re going to make a full day of it, bring plenty of water and snacks, such as nuts or a meal replacement bar.
2. Go whitewater rafting. I went rafting for the first time in 2008, and it was a blast! There are companies all over the country that can set you up with everything you need: the raft, paddles and a knowledgeable guide. Get together a group of friends and tackle the rapids – just be sure to wear quick-dry clothing!
3. If high-speed paddling isn’t your scene, try a canoe trip instead. You can canoe down rivers and creeks and take advantage of the current, or paddle in lazy circles around a lake. Bring along a buddy to help man the oars.
4. Go swimming. Find a public pool, a lake, or head to the beach (but watch out for dangerous critters!) and dive in. Swimming is a fantastic, low-impact way to torch a ton of calories. You can use pool lanes to do laps, or take advantage of the open water at the lake/ocean to add a little extra resistance.
5. Rent a jet-ski! If you are at a lake or the beach, grab some friends and spend a day riding jet skis. If you go as a group you can split the cost of the rental; plus it’s more fun to ride tandem, taking turns being the passenger and the driver. Just be sure to wear your swimsuit or board shorts — you’re almost guaranteed to fall off at least once.
6. If water sports aren’t your thing, stick to dry land on a bike. Lots of parks and recreation areas offer bike trails, and it’s much easier to get distance on two wheels than on two feet. Spend two or three hours biking and you can easily log 30 miles. Just be sure to wear proper clothing and a helmet — and be prepared for sore buns the next day!
7. Play like a kid again. Pack some water and snacks and head to a nearby park. Spend a few hours (or the whole day) just playing. You can try frisbee or soccer, or for equipment-free fun, revisit games from your childhood: tag, red light green light, hide and seek, etc. Finish the afternoon off with a picnic!
8. If you like your outdoor games to be a bit more organized, try an outdoor sport. Take up golfing, or join an adult softball league. You’ll have planned workouts, get to meet like-minded locals and maybe even be rewarded with a championship trophy.
9. If you live anywhere near the mountains (or feel like driving to some), give ziplining a try. Guides will teach you the basics, and then you’ll hike up the mountain and zipline your way back down. You’ll be rewarded with fantastic views, the wind in your hair and the exhilaration of flying down the mountain. (And, yes, that’s me in the photo, ziplining through the Texas hill country last November.)
10. Take up gardening. Go outside, rake up any remaining leaves, turn over the soil, embellish the landscape, grow your own food  — the possibilities are limitless. And in the end, you’ll be rewarded with a nicer yard, and healthy fresh, veggies. It’s win-win!

So what about you? How do you like to spend your outdoor time in the spring? Do you have other suggestions to add to this list?

I realized the other day that a lot of my favorite shows have been WB/UPN/CW programs: Buffy, Angel, Veronica Mars, Gossip Girl, etc. This season I added another one to the list: The Vampire Diaries. At first, I was a little skeptical about the show for two reasons: 1) It’s based on a truly terrible series of books by L.J. Smith, and 2) with all the Twilight mania going on (which I cannot abide), I was concerned that the show might be another teen vampire saga. Plus, I tend to get my fill of vampire TV from True Blood.

Nevertheless, since the show films outside of Atlanta, I opted to give it a try, and it’s surprisingly great. It’s tense, dark and dramatic, and each episode ends with a cliffhanger, but in a suspenseful (and not annoying) way. Kevin Williamson of Scream fame works on the show, and he brings his understanding of teen horror: it’s intense and spooky, but not gruesome.

The program focuses on high school student Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev). We meet her on the first day of school, four months after her parents died in a car accident. Determined to try and be normal, she starts dating the handsome new guy at school, Stefan Salvatore (former model Paul Wesley). But Stefan has several secrets: he’s a vampire; he has an evil vampire brother, Damon (Lost’s Ian Somerhalder); and Elena looks exactly like Katherine, the brothers’ long-lost vampire lover/sire. Stefan has returned to his hometown of Mystic Falls, VA to find out more about Elena, drawn by her uncanny resemblance to his presumed-dead ex-girlfriend. His seemingly evil brother Damon also returns, for reasons unknown, and begins wreaking havoc on the town via murder, bloodshed and mind control. But appearances can be deceiving, and as Elena gets to know the Salvatore brothers, she discovers that Stefan isn’t as good as he seems, nor is Damon entirely the monster she thought him to be.

Despite the seemingly trite love triangle concept, the relationship among the three characters is surprisingly real, and the show is rounded out by a strong supporting cast (including Blue Crush’s Matt Davis, who stars as a vampire-hunting history teacher). In the first 14 episodes, there are several murders, a turning, a character who finds out she is a witch, a possession, an attempted vampire resurrection, an unsolved disappearance, a mysterious adoption story and more. This is an action-packed show, and a fun way to spend an hour on Thursday nights. Check it out.

Jennifer Aniston is one of those women who always seems to get press for the wrong reasons: she’s in her 40s and single, she doesn’t have as many babies as Angelina Jolie (I for one, do not understand Jolie-mania — I don’t find her any more beautiful or talented than the rest of the A-list crowd), she got divorced (gasp!), she keeps making terrible movies, she’s in a style/fashion rut, etc.

I kind of don’t get it. I mean sure, she’s made some bad choices – John Mayer, really? – and her movie success doesn’t seem nearly as great as her TV success (The Bounty Hunter looks awful), but other than that, she seems pretty fabulous. She has an established circle of girlfriends that includes Courteney Cox and Sheryl Crow, a gorgeous home that keeps getting featured in design and architecture magazines, the world’s best hair and gazillions of dollars. She also spends a lot of time at the beach, which must be nice. She gets a lot of flack for her style; fashion blogs often complain that she’s in a rut. But I think she has just found a look that suits her body and her life and sticks with it. And there’s nothing wrong with that. She has perfected a minimalist, beachy, California-cool look that I quite like – if I had her body (and her tan), I would certainly emulate her style.

Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks so, because People.com is featuring a slideshow of her 10 style essentials, all of which I quite like. Clean lines, minis, classic jeans (thank goodness she eschews the distressed trend that is taking over the rest of Hollywood), scarves, cool jackets and interesting jewelry. If that’s a rut, then I’m going to start digging my own.

Take a peek at the slideshow and then come back and let me know what you think of Aniston’s fashion choices.