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What’s love got to do with it?
Most of Europe celebrates Valentine’s Day differently than in the United States. Here it is considered a holiday truly for young lovers–not one for children to bring valentines to school or one to send some chocolate to your mother, or even one for old, married couples (like me). A few European Valentine’s Day traditions A…
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Aging with purpose, not Botox…
After four months of living abroad, I have noticed a profound change in the way I perceive beauty: I find myself idolizing women 20 to 30 years older than I am. As a point of reference, I am turning 30 this summer (an age that really makes you think “what am I doing with my…
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This week I am…
…pretending I live in a snow globe (why does the world feel quieter when it snows?). -Wearing these, like all the Swiss girls around here. -Following this with salacious fascination (quel scandal!). -Wondering why this is still a health issue (love this). -Making this exotic dish (still thinking about this). -Watching this Oscar contender for Best Picture. -Reading this before bed and…
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Why the Danish are happier than we are, even in their winters
The sun sets before four in the afternoon and the temperatures rarely surge above freezing, and yet winter is Denmark’s favorite season thanks to the Danes’ belief in the culture of hygge. What is hygge? Pronounced “hyOO-guh,” the word loosely translates to the mental state of coziness, according to Denmark’s government, which first used the…
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When ‘cabin fever’ becomes a real illness…
Many suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) this time of year, often blaming the lack of sunshine as the culprit. And although a lack of vitamin D contributes to SAD, there are a number of lifestyle changes that can encourage SAD to manifest in one’s body–such as too much alcohol and sedentary behavior. After consulting…
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From guns and gangs to grains and meringues…
In a city where neighborhoods are crudely divided by gang wars and drug deals, there is a place of refuge — Homeboy Bakery — where members of at least eight Los Angeles gangs work side by side baking artisanal bread. The bakery is not just giving these gang members, homeless people and newly released convicts a job,…
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Birds of a feather…
…flock together when they live at the Center for Birds of Prey in Charleston, South Carolina. Writing for Garden & Gun magazine, I got to visit this unique animal sanctuary. Believe me, it is not a zoo. This is the real deal. Volunteers roam among visitors in leather gloves, holding speckled owls and sleek bald…
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It’s not about the bike: Nonprofit 88 Bikes
While cycling across Cambodia in 2007, brothers Dan and Jared Austin decided to donate their bicycles to an orphanage at the end of their journey. But when they arrived at the orphanage and found 88 children living there, they knew just two bikes wouldn’t cut it. They decided all 88 children should experience the happiness…
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Whiskey may be just what the doctor ordered…
With just days before my sister’s wedding in January, I came down with a nasty case of bronchitis. After trying everything at the local pharmacy and not getting any results, I finally heeded my mother’s advice and had a hot toddy. With one skeptical eyebrow raised, I sipped down this hot, boozy beverage and found…
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Paige Langton 