There is nothing better than a spontaneous trip. 

It was a Saturday when Rachel, one of my long time friends, calls and says: 

"hey, wanna go to Chicago Thursday?"

UMMMM yes! 

And that was that. 

We had an amazing weekend in Chicago. So much fun to spend time together. Even thought we've all been changing and doing different things in the world, we know that when we come together it is bound to be wonderful. 

We ate REALLY good food, visited wonderful museums, strolled through the park, shopped a little too much, and drank way too many soy vanilla lattes. 

(killer hotel view)

(some lady offered to take our photo...she was so sweet... but really?! This close? we laughed for a good 15 minutes)

(I'll do yoga with this view ANY day.)

Time with friends is always time well spent. 

PS,

If you are every in Chicago DO NOT MISS these:

The Museum of Science and Industry

(cool interactive exhibits!...I loved the space area)

Lou Manlnati's Pizza

(Killer deep dish pizza)

Water Tower Place

(amazing shopping) 

Millennium Park

(Amazing things to walk around and look at)

Art Institute of Chicago

xoxo

m

I've got the travel bug....

Tom and I looked through all our travel photos last night. 

Now I'm craving a trip...For now pictures will have to do.

The best time of the year

Oh fall, I've missed you.

Spent the weekend decorating our little apartment, walking outside, sipping lattes, baking pumpkin bread, and reading on the patio. 

xoxo

The Eight Limbed Yogic Path

Yoga teacher training is truly amazing. 

I grow more and more every week. 

I came across this in my reading and LOVED it. 

The eight limed yogic path is a step-by-step path toward the realization of yoga, or union with the universal self. 

1. Yamas: Restraints which apply specifically to how you behave outwardly towards other beings.

(non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, sensual moderation, non-grasping)

2. Niyama: Observances which apply to how you conduct yourself on a more personal level. 

(cleanliness, contentment, discipline, self-study, devotion)

3. Asana: Getting control over our physical bodies. 

4. Pranayama: Ones own vital energy and life force. By manipulating the breath, we learn how to manage our energy more skillfully. 

5. Pratyhara: "withdrawal from the senses." Energy and attention is directed inward to the heart and mind. One stops reaching out through the senses toward external stimuli. 

6. Dharana: Training the mind to focus on a single point, or object for a prolonged period of time. 

7. Dhyana: Meditation. The choice to focus. 

8. Samadhi: Complete evenness and equilibrium in the mind. There is no separation, only love and oneness.