Have you heard about (aka, what I'm currently obsessed with...)

Listen up people!!

My level of absolute obsession with the two (completely unrelated) things I'm about to share deserved more than just a plain old "Have You Heard About". If you've been anywhere near me in the past month or two you've probably heard me talking about these obsessions (sorry, not sorry!) and that's because they're just straight up awesome. So what are these Merry Meri wonders you ask? Well, have you heard about...

* Adult Coloring Books

A masterpiece from my beloved Secret Garden coloring book.

In June, I walked into Barnes and Noble and was immediately drawn to a display table covered in complex, ethereal, beautifully illustrated coloring books. I simply had to have one and ever since I can't put the thing down! Armed with a fresh 50-color box of Crayola colored pencils, I'm a coloring machine, spending hours at a time lost in the tiny details of each beautiful page. I find the activity soothing and rewarding, requiring deep focus, but somehow not at all the kind of focus that feels like work.  And turns out I'm not alone, adult coloring books are currently 6 of the top 20 selling books on Amazon.com!! “I think it probably speaks to people’s enjoyment in doing this kind of relaxing hobby or distraction from everyday life,” Sarah Deaver, president of the American Art Therapy Association, says “It creates an object of focus, and it creates something that’s beautiful and that’s satisfying.” Amen to that!!! So get yourself an adult coloring book today and don't worry about staying inside the lines, the best thing about being an adult is that you get to make your own rules:)

* ClassPass

Gym memberships can be pricey in NYC and for me, committing to that cost would have meant cutting out favorite workouts like SoulCyle, YogaVida and small group training sessions in the park. Enter ClassPass. ClassPass allows you to pay 1 monthly fee (in NYC it's currently $100 but going up to $125 this fall) and membership includes access to literally 100s of fitness classes (including open gym time!) throughout any ClassPass city! You can take as many classes as you want, with up to 3 per month at the same studio and sign up is as easy as opening the app and seeing what's near you that's about to begin! Through ClassPass I've discovered a love for high intensity interval training at Kore, adventures in indoor "surfing" at SurfSet (super unique and cool) and fallen in love one stroke at a time with Row House. As someone who needs variety to stick with exercise, ClassPass has been PERFECT and there's never a time when I can't find something interesting to try. (The downside? My beloved SoulCycle is not a member of ClassPass. Thankfully Cyc has proven a worthy substitute). Considering what I was paying in individual studio fees before, I'm coming out way ahead with ClassPass and working out all the time. So what are you waiting for!? Sign up!!

Au Naturale.

Makeup free and still stunning

Yesterday I was naked all day. Not naked as in "get some clothes on woman!" but naked as in 100% makeup free. You see, I start every Wednesday with a workout (at least once per week, as promised!) and I shower and head straight to work afterwards. Occasionally,  I forget to pack all the essentials in my gym bag and yesterday it was my makeup (for the record, the time I forgot a bra was way worse!) 

Now, I have a far from comprehensive daily makeup routine. Some under eye concealer and brightener, followed by a quick swipe of bronzer, blush and eyeliner are pretty much it, but without those few products, I felt exposed and certainly less put together. Nevertheless, as the day wore on and my un-lined, grey circled eyes seemed even more noticeable, there was something kind of refreshing about going au naturale. My skin looked like my skin and I felt less oily and day-old-makeupy. Sure my "flaws" were hanging out for all to see (and I would have made an emergency trip to Sephora for a face of tester makeup if I'd had plans to go out after work!), but for "just another Wednesday" I think I sported "natural beauty" fairly well (I wonder what my co-workers thought!!) 

Next time you have a chance, consider giving your face a day off from painted on perfection - you may not have the flawless look you're accustomed to, but I'm guessing that fresh faced natural you is pretty beautiful too!

Healthy Habit of the Month II.

Yup, that sounds about right.

This post is the second installment of SeektobeMerry's "Healthy Habit of the Month" series. Sourced from my bff's at Weight Watchers, online articles and my own efforts to keep fit and trim, throughout 2013, I will attempt to integrate one new healthy habit into my life each month. Join me!

So we meet again impending spring... With March just 1 week away, I'm trying to overlook the lion and focus on the lamb. Before we know it, warmer weather will allow us to shed our bulky sweaters and full-coverage outfits for spring apparel, meaning it's time to get serious about our healthy habits people!!! How are we doing with last month's pledge to eat a fruit or veggie at every meal? Full disclosure, I've achieved only moderate success. I'm definitely eating WAY more of the good stuff, but for me every meal is a major change and requires a lot of advance planning. I'm getting there. Baby steps right? This month we're going to shift gears from food to activity.
Healthy Habit of the Month #2: Schedule a workout. Just one. EVERY week.

We all have the best intentions, but fitting in exercise can be a real challenge. You have to physically get to the place you're going to workout, you have to have energy to do your workout and then you have to clean yourself up (with the sweating and the hair and the re-dressing...) For me a 1 hour workout can take nearly 2 hours if I include travel and cleanup times. And we're all busy (and lazy and thirsty for a cocktail) so some weeks I get in 3 or 4 workouts, other weeks, nada. For this month's challenge, I'm going to look at my calendar every Sunday night and schedule in 1 workout for the week. I'm going to treat it like an important meeting - it cannot be cancelled or rescheduled for anything short of a true emergency. No more excuses, just a better ability to make time for working up a good sweat. Game on exercise!

The Staycation (part i. of ii.)

Stay home.

This past weekend Dr. H and I spent 5 consecutive days off from work and at home. Abandoning our usual hustle, bustle and urge to travel for catching up on sleep, saving money and relaxing, this was the longest "Staycation" of our relationship. Manhattan is quiet and romantic during Christmas, so we were able to enjoy our city, our home and one another's uninterrupted company for days on end (we still like each other!) Since "getting away" by staying home was new to me, I thought it might be fun to share some of the things that I think made our Staycation a success... Tomorrow I'll cover our eats and activities, but today, here are some Merry Meri tested and Dr. H approved Staycation tips:

(1) Clean up!

The first day we both had off we (I!?) made cleaning up a priority. I wanted to tackle the dust bunnies, piles and nagging list of household chores right off the bat so that they wouldn't be hanging over our (my!?) head the entire time we were home. Plus, it's awesome to be home when your place feels tidy and smells fresh, so take an hour or two and straighten up, then kick back and enjoy.

(2) Workout

Dr. H and I did an impressive amount of eating, drinking and lounging over the long weekend, so working out was a must. We seized our quieter-than-usual city and schedules to go to a SoulCycle that's often hard to get into and used each other as motivation to actually get on the bike. The workout allowed us to spend countless hours on the couch with very little guilt.

(3) Split up

I think part of what made our Staycation such a success was that we didn't feel obligated to stay together the entire time. We ran some of our own errands and didn't hesitate to fly solo for personal favorite activities (mani/pedi for her, uninterrupted couch lounging for him?). Just like solo time for independent interests on travelling vacations, make sure you and your bud don't feel obligated to spend every waking minute together.

(4) Sleep (late and often)

Dr. H and I are excellent sleepers - we can still sleep well into the morning (and perhaps I saw the clock strike noon while still in bed one day?!) Unlike a vacation, staycationing relieves you of any "see it now or never" pressure (there's always, tomorrow, or next month, or next year!) so seize the luxury of excessive sleeping. 

(5) Go for walks

No destination in mind, just go for a stroll. Dr. H and I took full advantage of the empty sidewalks, meandering down streets we usually skip and enjoying the fresh air. Strolling like a tourist in our own town allowed us to notice things we usually rush past and enjoy just being in a place we love.

(6) Do  things you've been meaning to do...

We started watching Game of Thrones, busted out our new Would You Rather game and painted a chalkboard wall (it's AWESOME). Waking up without a plan for several consecutive days gave us time to think of all the things we've been wanting to do at home and actually DO them!

Manic Monday.

Yup. That's about right.

My brain is not fully functional today. I started out feeling very empowered at SoulCycle:

A coveted Union Square ride!!

And since I have the day off from work, I was all "Ima hit up the Farmer's Market and cook Dr. H something amazing and fresh for dinner".

The plan was to cook up some chicken cutlets with a side of THIS:

my maiden voyage with cauliflower.

But then my girlfriend reminded me (thank goodness!) that we're signed up for a little pre-turkey/gravy/mashed potatoes burn sesh at Barry's Bootcamp tonight and I'm like "F. I totally forgot. The chicken is defrosted and my butt's already sore from spinning." Also, the "clean and organize my closet" project is not nearly complete:

So now I've got Tim Gunn screaming "make it work!!!" in the back of my mind as I push forward into the day's plans. Tomorrow I will likely be crippled, have an untouched head of cauliflower in my fridge and be back at my desk. But on the bright side, I'll be having guilt-free pumpkin pie on Thursday and my closet will finally be livable.  I might even be able to squeeze in painting those dining room chairs... SO, I'm off... Seize the manic Monday friends... holiday break is just around the corner:)

A bad good habit?

Not mentioned, SWEATY.

I recently started taking spin classes here in NYC. Four months post-op on my knee, I’m not quite strong enough to run which SUCKS for a girlie who uses running not just for fitness, but also for mental clarity. So I have taken up spinning, checking out classes at Pedal NYC (literally IN my apt bldg!) and at the awesomely awesome (and super trendy) Soul Cycle. So you’re all “she’s exercising, great what’s the big deal?” The big deal is that spin is no deal at all… at $30-34 per class, this is my worst “good” habit since discovering sashimi (how many $3 strips of raw fish does it take to fill YOU up!?)

Is there such a thing as a bad good habit? How do we pick which eco-friendly/healthy/fit expenses are worth the price!? I pay almost double for organic berries and who knows how much for bottled water and Brita filters, so why not round out my “healthy Meri monthly bill” by paying out the butt for an amazing workout that I really enjoy? I mean, I think my butt deserves a nice candle-lit bike ride every once in while!