Last year, we decided to celebrate my 35th by taking a road trip in southern Portugal. Bryan flew in early for work and he planned the beginning of the trip, so when he picked me up at the Lisbon airport, I didn’t know what to expect. We drove about three hours south and, to my surprise and delight, the first stop was absolutely perfect.
Read MoreWhen our trip to Ecuador fell through, we ended up making a visit to Cartagena. I’m so glad we did (though I still hope to get to Ecuador someday)! Cartagena is a beautiful city for eating and enjoying life. The walled Old City takes you back in time, with uneven stone streets and historic squares. Colorful buildings and art give it a contemporary vibe.
Read MoreWhen our flights to Ecuador were canceled, it was time for a new plan to celebrate Bryan’s 40th birthday.
Read MoreI ended the year in the best way: An LBI tiny wave sunset surf session with the greatest of friends. It was the perfect cap on a year that has, for me, been a transformative year in learning to surf and actually “getting it.” I’m starting to understand the power of winter wetsuits, and I swear, it’s really not that cold (until you get out of the water)! This picture was followed by a warm shower and many NYE snacks and cocktails.
Read MoreFor the past three years, most of the vacations I’ve taken have been “work-cations” where I teach on yoga and surf retreats with Surf Sweat Serve. But this year, I decided I needed a 100% vacation, so I decided to sign up for a yoga retreat with my local New Jersey studio, Yoga Bohemia. No teaching, just taking it all in and enjoying classes taught by my lovely yogi friends.
Read MoreAntigua is such an enchanting city. The surrounding volcanos provide stunning backdrops and the popularity of rooftop cafes and bars offer excellent viewing points. Everywhere you look, you’re reminded of the beauty and power of nature. A few years ago, I spent a month teaching yoga in Nicaragua and I stopped in Antigua on the way back. It was the kind of city where I had a feeling I’d return. This spring, I finally did.
Read MoreEven though we were all working remotely, time slowed down in coastal Guatemala. Each morning started with slow sips of coffee and wave checks from a hammock. Every evening, there was a great exodus out of hotels and houses to watch incredible sunsets from the beach.
Read MoreI’m one week away from heading back to El Salvador for a surf and yoga retreat with my friend Pixie and her company, Surf Sweat Serve, from October 1st-8th, 2023. I’ll be teaching yoga classes every morning, and there will be plenty of time for surfing, swimming, adventuring, and relaxing by the pool. We still have a few spots open, and flights from both JFK and LAX are looking pretty good! If you’re a last-minute planner and still want to join, you can register here.
Read MoreI have a new yoga class available on YouTube. This one aims to be a more vigorous vinyasa flow, so check it out and let me know what you think! I filmed it towards the end of going on a yoga retreat in Guatemala, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
On New Year’s Day, we set off to explore a new place: Borneo. This revelation has left many friends and family members scratching their heads asking, “What is Borneo?” “Where is Borneo?” and “Why Borneo?” Well, Borneo is the third-largest island in the world (not counting continents), and it’s off the east coast of Malaysia. It’s bigger than I ever knew!
Read MoreI’m still catching up on my travels! It’s March and I’ve been on a few flights already this year. Right after Christmas, my boyfriend and I flew to Singapore. He needed to go there for work, but we departed a week early to squeeze in some vacation time. The hotel was expensed, and I would only needed to pay for my flight, so I said “Alright, let’s go!”
Read MoreWell, this post has been a long time coming. But a couple months ago, my boyfriend and I loaded the Bailey dog into the car and took ourselves on a sweet southern road trip. Our main destination was St. Augustine, FL because the yoga studio where I teach here just opened up a new location down there. We aimed to do some yoga, surf, and enjoy the warmer weather, and that’s exactly what we did.
St. Augustine was very charming. I can see why Katie, our beloved Yoga Bohemia studio owner, couldn’t resist signing a lease down there. The streets were quiet during the week we stayed (they would pick up for the Night of Lights right after we left.) There were plenty of great restaurants with delicious food, and some quirky little bars, like Tini Martini, which was fully decked out for the light show.
We enjoyed a week of working from our Airbnb (with a couple days off of course), and learning more about the history of the U.S.’s oldest city. One of the highlights was touring Ft. Matanzas National Monument. Other highlights include eating a million biscuits and surfing under a sunset rainbow… the mental pictures are unbeatable!
St. Augustine favorites:
The Floridian for dinner
The Kookaburra for coffee and aussie pies
Ice Plant Bar for dinner and drinks
Beachside Diner for breakfast
Island Donuts for donuts, of course
Surf Station for all the surf stuff
On the way back, we spent a couple nights in Jacksonville Beach. It wasn’t my favorite since the main busy highway bumps right up to the beach. I didn’t find it to be a very enjoyable walking city, but it had it’s charms—like this barbecue board.
Jacksonville Beach favorites:
The Bearded Pig for barbecue
Jax Beach Brunch Haus (worth the wait for breakfast)
The biscuit fest would continue on as we kept driving north and stopped in Savannah briefly to visit my mom and stepdad. The weather was surprisingly cold for the south in November. I was hoping for summer and definitely didn’t pack the right clothing items for this trip!
We had a nice time staying at the pet-friendly Thunderbird Inn. This surely won’t be a comprehensive list of all my Savannah favorites, but these are the ones we made it to this time.
Savannah favorites:
The Olde Pink House is a classic
Zunzis has changed so much since its food truck days (and maybe not for the best), but the sandwiches still amaze
The Thunderbird Inn was a fun, pet-friendly hotel
Moodrights was casual and quirky for Bingo night
I love a good road trip and was so happy to have some company this time!
Hi friends. After a long (primarily puppy-driven) YouTube yoga hiatus, I’ve finally posted a video. This flow helped me loosen up after a long ride in the car to New York City and a day of working at a desk. I hope you find it useful. I’ll be planning to post more yoga classes over on my YouTube channel, so follow along if you’re a fan of doing online yoga videos. I like it because we can practice together from anywhere in the world. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
I have a dog now, by the way. I haven’t told you on here yet. Bailey came to me in February, from a rescue, looking like this…
Read MoreI’m coming to you from the air today! After a surprise cancellation and rebooking (one of many happening these days, it seems), I’m on a flight to visit Los Angeles. I’ve been keeping a one line a day journal since 2020 (a thrilling year to start, by the way) and I can’t believe it’s officially been longer that I’ve lived in New Jersey than I lived in LA.
Read MoreThere’s such a difference between the beginning of January and its final days. Here in the third week, I wonder, are you sticking to your resolutions? Have you altered them? Softened them to fit your real life? As we come back from the holiday chaos—increased energies, hectic schedules, indulgent diets—we try to take back the reigns at the beginning of the year with schedules, rules, and controls.
I, for one, enjoy this. It’s easier to have strict guidelines than to make a new decision every day. “I’m choosing not to drink this month.” I’m doing 30 minutes of cardio per day.” Ok, no questions. But then we get to the third week, and it’s time to check in on what’s working for us. There were the two mimosas on a football Sunday. Plus the day work was crazy and I only had twenty minutes to exercise before teaching a class. A few imperfections. They’ll have to be OK.
If you notice yourself slipping up a lot (and I mean daily or a few times a week), don’t start by beating yourself up or questioning your willpower. If you messed up, first offer yourself forgiveness. Then reflect. Where are you coming from—how was your energy and your life a month ago? Have you been realistic in what you could take on? Are your goals right for you or were they perhaps superhuman? Consider sharing them with a trusted friend.
I’m not suggesting you throw out all of your goals and lie down on the couch (although it’s Friday afternoon so I won’t be mad if you do), but allow some space to assess and readjust. Set yourself up with the best habits that you know you can, and then leave a little room for life to flow in between.
Have a wonderful weekend.
<3 Cori
It’s still January (in case you haven’t already noticed from the freezing temps and the way it keeps snowing!) so I hope I can still do a 2021 recap. While it was another weird year of uncertainty for everyone, but SO much happened this year that I don’t want to forget…
Winter LBI sunsets. Snow! Two spring trips to California. My birthday celebration in Keystone, Colorado. Yoga on the beach, by the bay, and in the studio. Nature time in the Delaware Water Gap (and exploring more of my new state of NJ). Becoming an official New Jersey resident and finally unpacking all my stored boxes into my own apartment. A best friend’s wedding in Amsterdam plus a side trip to Paris. A lovely amount of trips to Harrisburg and other parts of PA to visit my sister. And last but not least, all the holiday festivities and a family trip to NYC after two years away.
My grandma celebrated her birthday last week, and when I called to wish her a happy one, she had some reflections to deliver. She considered the number, and I commented that we’re both getting older. But if someone offered her the chance to wake up tomorrow and be 25 or 35 again, would she do it? “Only if they’d promise I could live every year since then in exactly the same way,” she said.
I hope I feel the same when I reach my 80’s. At this rate, I think I will.
Happy New Year! Now that my full-time job is back in the swing of things this week, I’m realizing that December was really a nice break and slow down from the normal fast-paced madness. During that recharging period, “home” for the holidays really meant all over the place for the holidays, but I’m glad I got to visit and spend time with so many friends and family members. I was home to Poughkeepsie a couple of times, in Harrisburg with my sister a couple more, and had time at my apartment in South-Central Jersey for plenty of cookie baking.
Thanksgiving was hosted by my sister in Harrisburg. I crocheted these festive turkey napkin rings:
My mom and stepdad came up from Georgia to take us to New York City to see the tree and all the holiday decorations. It was still weirdly (and perfectly warm). We celebrated my sister’s engagement at the River Cafe in Brooklyn.
I finally attended my first Long Beach Island Ship Bottom Christmas parade. There’s nothing like a small town holiday parade. This one had lots of boats:
I decorated my place inside and outside. Thanks to anyone who contributed holiday hand-me-down decor!
And here are those cookies. I made six different kinds this year:
For Christmas, I stayed at my dad’s house in Poughkeepsie, NY. Christmas Eve is really our only big family holiday tradition, but last year was canceled for COVID and the year before I was away in Australia. It was great to be back together to gather and celebrate. We also got a lucky ski day in at home:
And lots of cuddle time with their new puppy, Jameson, who is growing much too fast:
That’s all I’ve got for now! Happy New Year, and I hope your resolutions are still going strong in week one.
I love challenging people’s expectations about what El Salvador is like. This was my third time visiting the country, and every time I am more impressed by the kind people, natural beauty, and travel experiences that it has to offer. If you’ve ever raised your eyebrows, gasped, or felt uncertain when you’ve heard about travel to El Salvador—and of course, we all want to be safe and every country has its dangerous areas—I beg you to question your assumptions!
For the past three years, I’ve been joining Surf Sweat Serve, a fitness and adventure retreat company founded by my friend Pixie Acia, as the yoga teacher/translator/coordinator slash “whatever you need since we’re a two-person team.” Each time I’m even more grateful for the people we meet and the opportunity to come return.
Here’s what a typical day in retreat life is like:
Almost every day starts with a morning yoga class, followed by the best coffee and breakfast. The hotel staff is always accommodating and even created a special menu for vegan guests this year.
The adventures, surfing, and workouts are incredible, but I think it’s the food and the community built at mealtimes that keeps everyone coming back! After breakfast, it’s usually time for a surfing lesson. The instructors take us up to the academy gym to go over the fundamentals, then we drive to a spot about 10 minutes away where the waves are good for beginners. Depending on the group’s experience levels, there are different spots with varying conditions.
You’ll always find black sand beaches and plenty of waves. After about 2 hours of surfing and beach time, we come back to the hotel for lunch.
Ceviche is a crowd favorite. I usually make my own combination of traditional rice and beans, tortilla, and avocado. Plus lots of spicy salsa.
Every day is a little bit different. Sometimes the mornings and afternoons are for an excursion, like hiking to a waterfall and jumping in:
Or taking part in the “service” part of Surf Sweat Serve by doing a beach cleanup:
And sometimes (usually towards the end of the trip) it’s nice to relax by the pool:
It starts off with a perfect sunset over the ocean.
Then Pixie leads one of her #DOITFORTHEDOPAMINE cardio and strength classes.
Each night, we gather together for dinner. Sometimes we’ll go to a nearby hostel like we did for Taco Tuesday, but usually it’s in the hotel dining room. There’s a full menu of items from typical El Salvadorean dishes to good old American cheeseburgers. Here is the traditional dish they made us for pupusa night:
Don’t forget drinks and dessert:
We often end up talking around the table for hours, making it to bed just in time to do it all over again the next day. Any questions? If you’ve been on a yoga or adventure retreat, what was your favorite part?
Cheers!
It always leaves a little hole in my heart when summer leaves. But we’re still out on the beach here, and I’ve had a few fun adventures in place and in store. October is the borderline between the heat and the slowing down. It gives us a little reminder to pause and notice what’s changed.
I’ve got pumpkins (probably rotting as we speak) outside of my door. And few crafts inside in the works.
Most days the weather has been good enough for some yoga and a late season surf.
The sunsets here are always unbeatable.
My sister stopped by to celebrate her engagement. We took a quick walk around Cedar Bonnet Island Park.
And we visited her and Will in Harrisburg, PA again. Talk about the land of craft fairs and festive fall decor!
My mom and stepdad are leaving soon for Georgia, so we took an extended lunch at Rat’s Restaurant in the Grounds for Sculpture. Yummy food and perfect scenery. Highly recommend!
I got into the spirit and baked some fall treats.
I’ve been boating a bit.
And tried my hand at making mussels for the first time. Delicious!
Last one. My grandma’s teacup collection is on full display in my new apartment kitchen:
