So, I was back in Pensacola for a few days this week, just hanging out with my family. I didn’t really make any plans for the trip, save for one: I wanted to go to yoga class. My yoga teacher, Nancy LaNasa, opened the Abhaya Yoga Center there a while ago and this was my first opportunity to check it out. So cool!! While Nancy herself wasn’t there (boo) I did get to take two classes with Stacey Vann, one of the other instructors, and co-founder of Universal Spirit Yoga. Stacey is great. Her classes are totally laid back and fun, and she even let me attend (with my mom) a class for students over age 50! I had such a great time, and I hate that I can’t go to regular classes there.

Also, I’m not the only one who loves it. This year is the second in a row that the center has won best yoga in the Pensacola Independent News Best of the Coast Competition. Nice! Anyway, if you live in the Pensacola area, please check out Abhaya. It can change your life…in fact, I’m hoping to one day get my own teaching certification, to use in conjunction with my Health Counselor certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

Ba da pa pa ba da pa pa…
Come here
Pretty please
Can you tell me where I am
You won’t you say something
I need to get my bearings
I’m lost
And the shadows keep on changing

And I’m haunted
By the lives that I have loved
And actions I have hated
I’m haunted
By the lives that wove the web
Inside my haunted head

Ba da pa pa ba da pa pa…

Don’t cry,
There’s always a way
Here in November in this house of leaves
We’ll pray
Please, I know it’s hard to believe
To see a perfect forest
Through so many splintered trees
You and me
And these shadows keep on changing

And I’m haunted
By the lives that I have loved
And actions I have hated
I’m haunted
By the promises I’ve made
And others I have broken
I’m haunted
By the lives that wove the web
Inside my haunted head

Hallways… always

I’ll always want you
I’ll always need you
I’ll always love you

And I will always miss you

Ba da pa pa ba da pa pa…

Come here
No I won’t say please
One more look at the ghost
Before I’m gonna make it leave
Come here
I’ve got the pieces here
Time to gather up the splinters
Build a casket for my tears

I’m haunted
(By the lives that I have loved)
I’m haunted
(By the promises I’ve made)
I’m haunted
By the hallways in this tiny room
The echoes there of me and you
The voices that are carrying this tune

Ba da pa pa…

I know Roy and Dale meant Christmas when they sang the song, but to me October through December is the best time of year. I love that Autumn, Halloween/Samhain, my anniversary, my hubby’s birthday, my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s all fall into a 3 month chunk. In celebration, I’ve made a list of some fun things to do during October (especially if you live in Atlanta):

• Go on a hike. I love to hike up to the various waterfalls in North Georgia. So far, I’ve done Anna Ruby Falls, Amicalola Falls, and Tallulah State Gorge. I also hiked Brasstown Bald and Stone Mountain, which have great views, but alas, no water. For hiking tips, check out Fitsugar’s suggestions.
• Play with pumpkins. Go hunting for one at a Pumpkin Patch (like Burt’s Farm) and then bring them home and carve ‘em up. Or just eat them! I love pumpkin breads, cakes and pies, and the sugar network has some help there too. Fit offers a recipe for a tofu pumpkin pie, and Yum has two cake recipes!
• Work off the pumpkin treats by getting lost in a corn maze. I haven’t done this yet, but I might go tomorrow. Try the North Georgia Corn Maze; it also offers hay rides and a haunted barn!
• Dress up! October is costume time, so take the opportunity to be someone else for a day. Need inspiration? Try Costume Universe.
• Scare yourself silly! Visit an elaborate haunted house or go on a ghost tour. Savannah has several; check them out here, here, and here!

Happy season!

So, I’ve had a total change of educational plans. Instead of moving to Texas to get a degree in Kinesiology, I’ve enrolled for the Fall 2008 session at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Basically, I’ll fly to NYC one weekend a month for 10 months, and at the end I’ll be a certified Health Counselor. I can even get an additional certification from Columbia University. Sweet!

OK, bad pun. Also, I never say fall, I prefer Autumn. But anyway, the season is almost upon us, and I have been in nesting mode. Maybe it’s because the holiday season inspires a feeling of coziness, but I have been scouring catalogs and decorating websites for new pieces. Here are some of my favorites.

I’ve been stalking this IKEA Hopen bed for a few years now. I’ve seen many beds I liked at other stores, but none so affordable as this. I like the lines, I like the price. Win-win.

New to IKEA this year are the Hemnes dressers. I really like this set; the pieces are simultaneously modern and antique in style. They actually remind me a little bit of my Mom’s dressers, although hers are antique and genuine wood.

Still, there are a lot of choices out there, and I also really like these options from West Elm. After all, I don’t want my house to be furnished entirely by IKEA. And speaking of West Elm, how adorable is the Groovy Foo Dog above? (Available in stores only. If you live in Atlanta, this means Atlantic Station, baby!)

Of course, I can’t entirely give up on IKEA, because they have the Fusion table, which my husband and I love. We can’t figure out exactly where to put it (or why we need it) but I bet it comes home with us one of these days.

After 5 years of searching, I have finally found a coffee table. My husband and I look at them all the time, but we never find any that we both like. He doesn’t want anything with glass, I don’t want anything with leather. We both want storage, and I want something a little unique. Crate and Barrel has come to my rescue with the Taka Trunk. Love it. Buying it soon.

I also just discovered a new website: Wrapables. Although it doesn’t offer furniture, there are all sorts of cute accessories like this quirky, affordable chandelier.

And finally, don’t forget to check out Zgallerie. They always have beautiful, interesting pieces, like this Venezia chandelier–my friend Sarah bought two: one for her nursery and one for her salon! Lovely!