It’s early in the morning, and I am faced with a familiar scene. Opening the window in my yoga space, I allow that first breath of fresh air to fill my lungs. I move quietly, unrolling my mat in one swift motion; a movement I’ve made many times before. My mat - a place I know that I can always come back to. A place to move, to breathe, to feel connected, to meditate. I burn some sage to clear the room, and proceed to light my favourite scents. Lavender, evergreen, and jasmine fill the air, and I gently pluck my mala from the bowl in which it rests. I sit down and fold my legs into sukhasana, and close my eyes. I let the wind from the open window lightly brush my hair out of place. I slowly breathe in and out, basking in the stillness. Placing my hands together, I clutch my mala beads in front of my chest, and bow my head. I whisper the words, “You are exactly where you need to be,” and use my hands to connect my head and my heart. Holding my mala in my right hand, looped over my middle finger, I begin to recite my mantra, over and over. Carefully, I pull the beads towards me with my thumb. The sunlight falling through the shades feels warm against my skin, and it is in this moment, that everything else begins to fall away.

To read the rest of the post + see more photos, head over to massmusings.com! I wrote a piece about using a mala in my practice, and apparently people liked it - so that's cool. I feel so incredibly grateful to be able to share my practice and connect with you all in so many different ways.

I know I haven't been around much lately, but I do post on Instagram every day if you're wondering what I have been up to. Pedro's family was in town from Brazil, so we have had a busy couple of weeks. But I'm taking photos (a lot), and writing (a little)

The site is in need of a re-design, and I need business cards, and so does Pedro. Life keeps moving on and on (after it seemed like time was standing still), and I have so many things to do + share + make. I'm just letting this space be whatever it becomes, and that's ok.

I'm enjoying watching Boston transition from Winter to Spring to Summer. Everything is in bloom, and there is so much life everywhere. We have been taking Rudie on long walks through the neighbourhood (which is so much fun). And I do yoga with the window open, and the birds chirp, and the sun shines, and everything is alright.

The city is alive, and I can't wait to explore.

Until next time - peace + love,

Alex

Wow guys, it's already been 3 weeks since I last posted... I kept meaning to turn on my computer and put a post into action, but it seemed like there was always something else calling my name (or an excuse not to complete a post). I just got so concerned that I wasn't going to be posting at the right time of day, or that I wasn't following any kind of schedule, that I just ended up not posting at all. Silly, right?

Fear not, as I settle back into some kind of normalcy + routine, my posts shall too.

Just to give you an idea of what we've been up to around here (because we have been up to a lot), here are a few updates!

We were pretty busy putting the finishing touches on our apartment and preparing for what I will fondly remember as the month of house guests. I will share photos of our apartment later this week! I'm excited to share our completed spaces with you. It has been a lot of fun collecting pieces that reflect our personal styles to fill our home with.

My parents came to visit from YYZ (it was their first time in Boston). We did some touristy things like visited Fenway Park, and ventured to the North End for a little (or rather large) pre-dinner snack from Mike's Pastry. I can't say I've ever waited in line for a cannoli before, but these guys were well worth the wait!

As someone who always lived within 40 minutes of their whole family, the whole moving away thing has been sort of different (who knew it was so hard to make friends at 25?)... So it was really nice to have family in town for a few days. This is my parents on the tourist trolley. It was rainy that day and I didn't snap too many photos.

Pedro and I roasted our first turkey and hosted our first (Canadian) Thanksgiving - and somehow, we actually managed to pull it off. The turkey was tasty and even had some bacon on top to make it extra juicy (thanks for the tips G-Ramz).

After my parent's left, a family friend of ours, Marina, stopped by Boston on the east coast leg of her adventures. We had a blast exploring the city, and indulging in lots of delicious eats (our visit to James Hook & Co. for lobster rolls and chowda was definitely a highlight)!

We meandered around Cambridge, spent an afternoon at the Boston Common, spent too much money on Newbury Street, stayed out late in Allston, and went to Church in Fenway (hehe.. for brunch silly! Try the truffle fries, yum)! And we stopped by the Kate Spade Saturday 30% off sale at the Prudential Center last weekend, and scored some serious goodies.

My yoga space is not complete, but is certainly functioning! I still need to purchase some props, candles, some plants and maybe a find a little buddha for the space - but it's really nice to have a designated area to practice. My new Manduka Pro Lite mat arrived a couple of weeks ago, and I love it. Every time I unroll it, it makes me smile. #Soulmat indeed!

AND THEN!!! Sunday was Pedro's 28th birthday! We celebrated on Saturday with his brother, Daniel, and his sister, Laura, was with us via Skype. I baked my first cake from scratch (it was a brigadeiro cake at Pedro's request), and it sort of turned out.. haha.. I used a recipe from the internet that called for far too many eggs. But that's one thing off my list of goals for this year!

Pedro and I then went to see Boston ska veterans, Big D & the Kids Table, play Operation Ivy's, "Energy", at Brighton Music Hall. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday was Pedro's actual birthday. We had brunch at Deep Ellum in Allston, and spent a quiet afternoon at home watching Thelma & Louise, and chatting with family members via Skype + Facetime. I gave Pedro a homemade card (with a badly drawn version of a photo from our e-shoot), a new wallet, and an awesome Fred Perry polo.

We found out some big news regarding our upcoming honeymoon, but that's another post, for another day when we have more concrete plans.

So yes, while I've been away from the blog, I have certainly been busy. And while with the upcoming holidays, our travel plans, work, yoga, life, etc, it certainly doesn't look like things are going to slow down - I promise to be around here a lot more often. Whether it be at 10:30 AM, 7 PM, or 2 in the morning.

Peace + love until next time,

Alex