Da 8-count

18 days. 6 countries. 1 bag: Rome - Day 4 continued

2012-01-20T12:56:00.001-05:00

Long story short: We got home at 4am the next morning.

Long story long: Remember my travel "rule" for new places?

Spend half a day hitting the "must-sees", a local restaurant for dinner, and do one nightlife-oriented event (bar, club, activity, etc).

Well my "activity" for our second night in Rome included bar, club, activity, AND etc... HA! As a dancer, whenever I travel to new places, if I get the chance to teach or take a class, I always go for it. Now I'm not gonna front, I get intimidated like any new kid starting school in a new place. But it makes for a good experience because you get to step a little outside of the touristy realm and into more "real" people realm. Youtube has its benefits - do a search for "hip hop dance competition italy " and you get this crew. Break da Beat crew from Roma…they'd definitely give ABDC a run for its money. I was able to find which studio, the choreographer, Emanuele Battista, taught at and sent him an email about classes. I was in luck because he had a class the last night i was there! yay! So off me and Mr. P went after the Coliseum - back to the hotel so I could change into my getup and then took a cab to Maison de la Danse (Via Assisi 37 Metro: Ponte Lungo)

I was so nervous - this crew was good. What if I sucked? Too late to back out now…so I got there just when they were in the middle of warmup (and i was late! dangit!) 5 min into the class and I was in a groove and started to just enjoy learning someone else's style. Emanuele asked if he should speak in english or italian and i said no, don't mind me, italian is fine. More reason to believe Dance is a universal language - you just follow and I had no problems following. The class was awesome - here's where I netted out with the routine (which was dope by the way)

After class, with no time to change, I literally switched to a maxi dress and flats that I had stuffed in my purse. My sneakers (Nike Free TR Fit Winter) were awesome because they are flat and super flexible (but still look good) and took up barely any room in my purse. I layered up over my maxi dress with a cardigan and my leather jacket, some accessories and headed to dinner at Glass Hostaria

Glass Hostaria in Trastevere

Getting there was an adventure - the cab driver dropped us off on a corner in Trastevere and just motioned into the alley like "there" lol. so we kinda walked in circles until after asking a few people we finally found it. I'll keep my review nice and short: It is a gorgeous place with modern decor and design. However it's something we're accustomed to seeing in NYC. The food was good. Service: decent. Mindblowing? no. Italian? not so sure...I think it was a modern/fancy take of Italian cuisine. If you had one night to do dinner in Rome - I would say skip. If you have a few nights however, I would recommend. Needless to say, we left still hungry. There were a lot of good reviews for Glass but after the day we had, I should have chosen something more local and hearty. Out of 5 sefastars: I give it a 3.5 (I think NYC spoils me lol). Glass Hostaria (Vicolo de' Cinque, 58 00153 Roma, Italy)

Travel tip: I'm a loyal fan of opentable.com and happened to stumble upon a european counterpart called toptable.com that works very similar. I was able to read reviews (majority english) and book reservations. Most had perks when booking a reservation. Easy - no language barriers - done and done. I recommend.

When we left Glass Hostaria, we headed to this bar that we had passed earlier that night while in search for the restaurant. They were playing hip hop (current hip hop at that) and figured why not go for a drink afterwards?

G. D.J.-Bar in Trastevere

DJ-bar (Vicolo del cinque, 60, Roma) felt like a place college kids would hang out at but it wasn't just students in there. It was a mix of people and personalities. The vibe was very casual, fun, and celebratory. The DJ was great - we kind of posted up right next to him and I would just make requests and he would just play them! I wasn't surprised about him playing them - I was more surprised that he had the songs! Travis Porter, Chris brown/weezy "Look at me now", jayz/kanye "Paris", T-pain, Ross, Drake, Wiz Khalifa, Yung Joc, Nicki, etc you name it he had it. I was jamming! In an hour's time, we had made a few friends (or lets say Mr. P had made a few fans haha) and caught the attention of the owner who invited us to another spot after he closed down. So come 2am roll around and DJ Bar shut down, we head with the owner to another club called Akab in who knows where (found out later, Testaccio) and partied it up VIP style with a few Roma futbol players. Crazy. Music good (hip hop, dancehall, house). By 4am I don't think my body was agreeing to this 24 hour party time so we finally said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel. ahhh the good times.

Akab in Testaccio

We "woke" up 5 hours later, realizing the only damage done was that I had left the chunky infinity scarf I had purchased in London at Akab (doh! and I was slightly pissed at myself b/c I could have used this scarf in several places later in the trip). Anyhow, we woke up, quickly threw clothes into our suitcases and headed to the station to catch our train to Civitavecchia to board our cruise!

Considering we were up at 8am the day before that's almost 24 hours of being out and about. It's a shame I didn't take pictures on our second and last night in Rome but that's why I've got the internet to help me out* Until next time....

*Unable to find photo credits for these but would be happy to give credit where credit is due!

My morning runs are videolicious

2012-01-09T12:43:00.000-05:00

As if I didn't have any more on my plate, one of my goals for the year was to get back into running. There are obviously physical benefits of this type of cardiovascular exercise but I actually like running more for clearing my head and getting some me time. I think I spend up to 12+ hours a day on the computer (both work & home). Granted I do teach classes here and there but my mind is totally focused on the class or on the choreography so it's not exactly conducive to "zoning out." So I like running for that purpose. I am outside and I can think about what's on tap for the day, how to solve a creative problem, look at the pretty scenery or cute dogs, let go of drama (if there is any), what to wear today, the list goes on and on and on...

The problem is that sometimes I'm good about just getting up in the morning and running. As I get older, however, that spring in my step at 7am is sometimes stuck... in bed...snoozing and dreaming away. SO being the totally goal oriented person that I am—that's just how I roll—I signed up for a half marathon. Again. This one however is creeping up on me - giving me about 6 weeks to prep. The nice thing about the half though is that it is in St. Petersburg, Florida.. (hello Tampa!) so I'm looking forward to the mini-winter break in my hometown. I've clearly turned into a snowbird. yep that's me.

If you want to get the run recaps, I've been video-blogging my training over at S&S Express. I've discovered a super duper cool app called Videolicious that edits your photos and videos into a neat little movie in about 3 easy steps. Of course, there's more I wish it could do but then again - I like the simplicity of being able to push out an edited video (with music!) in a matter of minutes FROM my iphone. So if you have an iphone, I highly recommend it. And the best part? It's FREE so download it asap before it gets too popular and they decide to slap a price on it!

Here's a sample running recap video I did. You can also watch my other fitness videos (along with my pal Sariah) and follow my 1/2 marathon training over at S&S Express:

18 days. 6 countries. 1 bag: Rome (days 3-4)

2012-01-04T09:20:00.003-05:00

When I only have a day or two in a new city—US or abroad, I always accept the fact that I can't see everything. It's just impossible. Instead, I have a personal "rule" that I go by: Spend half a day hitting the "must-sees", a local restaurant for dinner, and do one nightlife-oriented event (bar, club, activity, etc). In my original plan, for our 2 days pre-cruise, I wanted us to see St. Peters in the morning and Rome cultural sites in the afternoon on day 1. The next day, take a day trip to Florence, and be back for dinner in Rome by the evening.

Flying into Rome; my day 4 outfit; what's that arrow doing there? Looking down Via del Corso while standing in front of the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele at sunset.

What really happened was this: our flight got in at 9a, we were at the hotel by 11, we didn't leave till 1p, we ran to the vatican for our pre-booked St. Peter's tomb/Scavi tour at 2p, finished by 3p, grabbed a late lunch at 4 (but why was it getting so dark already?) got back to the hotel by 5ish - took a nap which turned into a looooong nap that caused us to wake up at 9p, look at each other, then fall back asleep for the night lol (our day did start at 3am to make a 6a flight out of Gatwick- I should have known better!). On day 2, we nixed Florence and walked around Rome for the entire day. Plans are great but be flexible! It is a vacation after all!

One of my favorite sculptures on the entire trip: The statue of Laocoön and His Sons. The expression, strength, and movement captured in marble is amazing. There are sculptures everywhere in this city - each a work of art. Not gonna lie - for some reason the vatican walls always made me flashback to the scene of Tom Cruise scaling the walls in Mission Impossible. I was on the lookout for broken utility trucks! Bottom right corner: silence in the Sistine Chapel!!! yeah we know there are no pics allowed but seriously, any photos no matter how professional, just doesn't do the real art justice.

Some tips:

You can totally walk rome. Wear comfortable shoes
The vatican is a must see. The guidebooks are right about the vatican museums/sistine chapel - you could easily spend an entire day there. The scale and detail is hard to describe and just doesn't translate via photo or video. It is massive and breathtaking. It is recommended you prebook tickets. I hadn't actually planned to go to the Sistine Chapel (just wanted to see St. Peter's - it's free to enter) so I bought tix online at the hotel right before we left to go there. Ended up, I didn't need to - the lines were nonexistent.
I prebooked a tour of the Scavi - Vatican Necropolis. Think of it as a behind-the-scenes tour of the vatican. Only 10 people go at a time and it's totally private. Our tour guide's knowledge was good but his english was pretty bad and he also really liked playing with his laser pointer so it's a hit or miss on this one. It's amazing to travel underneath this massive complex and see how everything has been built above these tombs. Do I recommend? If you have limited time in Rome (say, hours), I say skip. If you have a few days, I recommend. Securing tickets is odd - I filled out a form with my travel dates, scanned it in, and emailed the Papal office, waited, was sent a date that fit in my time slot, sent a credit card info, got confirmation via email, reconfirmed it (odd i know), then had to go to office to get tickets. I did a lot of researching to figure out where to go and what to do but its only as I write this post that I found a site giving straightforward personal account of the process. Read here.
Which leads me to another tip - visit Rome in mid-november, and if you can mid-week: there were hardly the long lines I was reading about. Yes, there are still tourists, but not enough to cause waits. Also - even though it's chilly it wasn't hot nor was it cold. I wore leggings, sperry topsiders (comfy!), a dress and leather jacket and scarf.
People swear by this and I concur: ditch the tour guides and download Rick Steves audio tours to your ipod/iphone/mp3 player. We used it for seeing the sistine chapel, pantheon, st. peters, as well as additional sites on our whole trip. It gives you enough context to appreciate the art you're looking at but is also fairly quick commentaries and you go at your own pace. I don't know how to fast forward a tour guide!

Highlights from the vatican museums and making our way down the streets of Rome

I knew no Italian but I got very comfortable saying ciao (hello/goodbye), graczi (thank you), and prego (you're welcome). When traveling I attempt to use the native language. Attempt being the key word here! I always feel like people are more likely to help you out just because you're trying. Also, using your hands and pointing to your maps, pics, etc will take you far.
We didn't get a ROMA pass b/c everything was walkable or free - we only had a few hours so didn't need entrance tickets (except for Vatican Museums)- i just wanted to SEE the colosseum, SEE Trevi fountain, SEE the Pantheon (though it was free to walk in).
Our friends said to stop wherever you can and get pizza and gelato - OFTEN. So we did. I like to pick the places that have locals which are usually off the main streets.
I read a lot about pickpocketing to get me nervous about it but then again I see they write about that for visiting NYC which is totally not on my radar. I will just advise to use common sense. Carry/wear pockets and bags with zippers, travel light, and just try to blend in.
I usually try to use my credit cards whenever I can so as to limit the amount of cash I carry on me. But ATMS are hard to find and not all places (especially local food ones) might not take credit cards so you'll have to pack some dough.
Wi-fi and Skype are your friends. I will do a future post on tech and travel.
And don't be afraid to wander! Roman streets are a maze so we resolved to just wandering in the right general direction rather than what google map directions is saying what to do. Believe me, you'll go crazy trying to stick to this street and turning left at that street. Just go in the direction, twist and turn wherever you feel like it. You'll stumble onto piazzas, little neighborhoods, and shops which is the beauty of it all so just take it all in.

I brought a sketchbook with me on the trip since drawing forces you to really stop and look at things. I make my sketches in 5-10 minutes. It's a nice break to have when you've been walking everywhere. Top: Colosseum; Trevi Fountain; St. Peters at night from Day 3 right after our Scavi tour.

Our evening on Day 4 warrants its own post (I smile just thinking about it) so check back soon for the recap!

Rome wasn't built in a day but we saw most of it in 24 hours! Above: our walking route.

Outfit recap:

Day 3: Jeans, biker boots, orange striped shirt, cardigan, leather jacket

Day 4: Leggings, Sperry Topsider loafers, Navy Blue striped dress, cardigan, leather jacket.

E's highlights of The Best of 2011

2012-01-01T18:03:00.000-05:00

As I move into 2012 with a bit of anticipation and excitement, I just had to share a few highlights of 2011. It was no doubt, a year filled with firsts —both good and not so great—but I reflect back at the lowlights as learning experiences. I learn more and more about the way I can work productively, things I shouldn't take for granted, relationships to cultivate, and how to continually tweak the equation of balancing all the things I love to do. Thanks to everyone, friends, colleagues, family, and especially my other half, Mr. P, who join or support me through ALLLLL my endeavors. I deeply appreciate your time and energy. Now onto the good stuff...in somewhat chronological order...

I've learned that "losing weight" never makes for a good resolution. But what about "audition for a NFL cheerleading squad?" Since that consists of donning a 2-piece in front of a panel of judges and cameras, you better believe I started to put in some blood, sweat, and tears in to at least be competitively in the runnings. I didn't make the team but I did get a better looking body. And losing the lbs was just icing on the cake ;-)

I learn best by being thrown in the fire so what better way to get those DJ skills up but by booking a few gigs? Speaking of gigs, even when I was sidelined for a few weeks with a surgery (boo), I literally still tried to do it all: shoot and edit my music video with my bff Lisa, teach a gajillion classes (shoutout to CPV!), model, and perform at NY Fashion Week. Coolest gig? Making my reality show debut on VH1 on LaLa's Full Court Life representing Mr. P's firm as we helped Carmelo and Lala Anthony find a NY home after 'Melo got traded to the Knicks. I was on 3 episodes!

I can't think of a better way to close out a year than with some ME/US time...So Mr. P and I took almost a month to travel to a few countries around Europe. It was unbelieveably amazing and fun. I've been recapping it here on da 8-count so check back often!

And now it's onto 2012...Let's get it.

18 days. 6 countries. 1 bag: Why Easjet will forever be called BooBoo Jet

2011-12-26T13:55:00.000-05:00

Easyjet = BooBoo Jet...but I'll still fly them!

Known for their crazy low fares, Easyjet, like similar budget airlines both domestic and abroad, are known for their crazy addition of fees. Don't check in online - pay £20. Luggage need checking in? Pay 25£ Over 40 kilos? Throw me another 10£ for EVERY kilo over the weight allowed. This can get very expensive without adequate planning. Well the one rule that I was willing to push my luck with was this one-bag carry-on luggage rule. I mean are they really checking? I had one suitcase and I had my purse (though large and tote-like). I was flying extremely light according to US standards but i'm not in the US so we would have to find out for ourselves:

Our carry-on suitcases wouldn't even warrant a second glance by US airlines. On EasyJet they see $$$$$.

Our flight from London to Rome on Easyjet left Gatwick at 6 am. Travel time, airport check-in time, get ready time...you can do the math on how early our day started. I read about the first come first serve seating arrangment so Mr. P and I were super early and first at the gate (FIRST!). Bad idea #1. The gate attendants—specifically this crazy Italian lady—immediately called us out. "1 bag!! 1 bag only!" I play dumb: "Excuse me? my purse is not ok? no? oh uhh..ok..." So I proceed to put my purse into my suitcase. It's tight... I have to use the extender and do the squeeze/sit/zip fight to close it but it closes. After putting in all that effort, crazy italian gate attendant now goes "It must fit into that carrier!" Alright lady, calm down with that attitude. I really wanted to give her the side-eye but I did the whole dumb look like "what? that? oh it'll fit" (no it won't) and she's like "I must see" knowing she's seen this a thousand times a week but she just gets a kick out of it. I'll give you something to SEE! so Mr. P goes to push my suitcase into their little carrier ruler gauge thing even though we obviously see this is not going to fit without a little muscle. But no... gate attendant chirps in "Must. Not. Squeeeeeze!" FINE lady you WIN.

Sort of...

SIDEBAR: If you're flying a budget airline and you want to avoid checking in bags - you're better off not carrying a roll-on suitcase..I don't think they make them that small in the US.. go shop in kids luggage. Or better yet think sports duffel bag you take to the gym. Their gauges measure at: 56x45x25cm (including wheels and pockets). Did you read that? wheels and pockets! Easyjet site: check-in this fee is £25 due to higher handling costs at the airport if you don't buy the bag online and at the boarding gate this increases to £40. that's ~$62 a bag people. Our tickets to Rome were ~$70 each.

Back to story: Gate attendant lady could barely contain her smile at the extra money she was makin off us american tourists but uh uh uh slow your roll lady...I had a backup plan! I prepaid our luggage just in case this exact situation happened so when she eagerly hopped onto her computer to charge us, her face suddenly went to quizzical.. then she says: Did you buy luggage already? Me: I'm not sure maybe (playing dumb because I did -it's only £14 (about $20) a suitcase) Her: Will since it shows that you did, we do not have to charge you. Betta recognize, woman! From this point forward, Mr. P started calling easyjet BooBoo Jet. ha.

So our luggage was checked at the gate (less chances for it to be lost!) I was only concerned about a lost luggage situation for this leg of the trip—London to Rome— since we would only be in Rome for 2 days before boarding our cruise and then we'd be in different cities every day after that. we'd be so screwed and it'd be so expensive to have to shop for everything with a weak exchange rate (where's a forever 21 when you REALLY NEED it lol). Coincidently we did meet a passenger on our cruise who had this exact scenario happen to her and her mom and they had to purchase EVERYTHING til their suitcases caught up with them 5 days into the cruise! (Screwed i tell ya!)

So moral of the story: One bag and one bag only. In the US, one bag + "personal" item is normal. But Easyjet takes this rule seriously to heart. 1+1 = 2. Not one + personal. We flew Easyjet 3 times on our trip and employees march up and down the boarding gate just waiting to strike some unknowing passenger with an extra bag fee - HI-YAH!

Way too much drama before even hitting 6am.. I need a nap.

Save this one situation, for the crazy low prices of the tickets alone I would still fly easyjet. They were fairly on time or early everywhere we flew. I do recommend getting the earliest flights out. We didn't have any problems at the airports. Post-cruise, we automatically checked our luggage in instead of trying this gate check scenario above. Also note that they don't use the gates in the airports we visited (Rome, Milan, Madrid, Gatwick, Luton). You board and deboard via buses/walk to tarmac, climb steps to get on/off the plane. "Speedy boarding" especially on early flights is a sham - don't buy it. just get to the gate early. Check-in, security, customs, everything went by really quickly so I'm for it...easy breezy BooBoo Jet.

18 days. 6 countries. 1 bag: London (days 1-2)

2011-12-19T17:37:00.000-05:00


Outfit day 2. The only time we saw the sun. So far so good...but it's still early! My (p)leather jacket , brown striped shirt, and hat from Forever 21, Se7en jeans, and black biker boots (forget brand). Bag: MZWallace

Clockwise from left: Amaryllis flower in Spitalfields market. Aerial installation of paper cranes in Selfridges. Neat clock idea using picture frames in a gift store in Spitalfields.

When I think of London I think of rain or gloomy overcast skies. When we got to London we were greeted by spitting mist rain and gloomy overcast skies. Surprise Surprise. We had a few bright spots in our brief two day stay with our friedns in Shoreditch. Great area by the way - I wish I had time to wander around Spitalfields market and it's a shame that even with it being literally next door, we didn't step foot inside the All Saints store (my wallet thanks me). In any case, I can wrap up our visit with a few words: lots of pubs and good friends and food. What more can you ask for?

Day 1:
Arrived super early. We took the Heathrow Express into London. Tip: As soon as you arrive into baggage claim, there are agents standing literally at the bottom of the escalator selling tix with a handheld credit card machine. The entire transaction took like 2 min max which made our entire deplaning process including customs to train platform a total of 15 minutes (bonus points for carry-on suitcase!) After arrival to our friends flat we crashed for hours lol then woke up for fish and chips at Poppies (prepare to step back in time into the 50s) and a little neighborhood wandering and additional eating at Rosa's (Thai - affordable and delicious)

Go to Poppies for some gooood fish and chips. Can't believe I ate Thai food a few hours later lol.

From top: Yummy Thai food at Rosa's (photos from Rosa's website except our tablescraps from my chicken pad thai and some prawn dish my husband had.) Bottom: dark streets - had no idea Jack the Ripper's stomping grounds was right around here!

Day 2:
I only wanted to do 1 cultural thing and that was visit the Tate Modern. Beforehand though we had breakfast at the Luxe (spitalfields) and then did some window shopping at Selfridges (chaos but saw a great sneaker collection in the shoe dept) then took the tube to the Tate. Met up with a friend at a pub afterwards then visited my college roommate for dinner at Zuma (swanky and good! sorry no pics!) in Knightsbridge.

A visit to the Tate - liked this exhibit about the Guerrilla Girls.

Outfit recap:
Day 1/ Flight: Maxi dress with a purple top and leather jacket, biker boots. (see photo here)
Day 2: Brown-striped cotton shirt, jeans, jacket, biker boots (I was underdressed by the time night came around - ended up purchasing a scarf)

18 days. 6 countries. 1 bag: Packing the 1 bag.

2011-12-15T01:11:00.000-05:00

Can you belive it's all in that 1 bag?

I always aspire to pack light for trips but I've also never been on a 3-week trip that spans different climates. On a good day I might feel high 60s/70s in a place like Malta but I might also have to brave against a low 40s windy overcast in London. There's swimming and formal events on the ship and then what about cool-girl gear for hip hop class in Rome? The outfits! The shoes! 1 bag?!

Why 1 bag?

Did you see that itinerary? Not only do I want to be lugging bags or huge suitcases up subway steps / buses / cobblestone streets but heaven forbid I check in and an airline loses my luggage? I'm not even in a country long enough for them to get the bags to me — it'd be a straight cat and mouse game with me and my suitcase. Being that we would often be flying Easyjet (aka Boo Boo Jet in my book - review to come) who had a 1 bag carryon policy I resolved to myself that I would carry 1 bag.

Can E make it Werk?

I did NOT want to look like a bum on this trip. So I got down to some serious planning because my wardrobe was going to have to do a lot of mixing and matching and I didn't want to be in ALL black and grey and white (boring!). I had a lot of help and inspiration through various Real Simple articles (X pieces X outfits) and sites like Onebag but it's The Uniform Project that really made me realize I could make this 1 bag thing happen (that site is so awesome!)

So back to planning - the only way to take an overall look at outfits for 18 days without emptying my closet drawers onto my bedroom floor was to see it all on paper. So I made a lookbook (I'm such a dork - my friends laughed at me for this) but it was extremely helpful!

Outfits courtesy of Forever21, Macys, Google, and Photoshop lol.

I just took screenshots of things that look similar to items I owned and pieced outfits together. I like that dresses and tunic tops do double duty. Also for the temperature aspect and for the fact I didn't want to lug a heavy coat, I relied heavily on layering.

I only needed to purchase a few things out of fashion neccessity (smile) - one being a soft flat loafer (Sperry are cute!) and also a neutral ballet flat (i initially wanted red but found a cute beige Liz Claiborne alternative). Other shoes that I brought were my knee high biker boots and my black boutique9 Nine west studded black platforms (surprisingly comfy to wear) After getting my pieces I took one night and tried on every combination as planned out in the lookbook. I found that some outfits looked good on paper and ridiculously tacky or forced in real life so I had to do some tweaking.

The trial run:

I clearly should have done my hair for this test run

I was cool with how that test run worked out. But when it came to packing it in my suitcase, to my surprise, i had a lot of room. So I threw in a few more cocktail dresses since every night on the cruise was a semi-formal/cocktail-ish dinner. I also threw in a few more thin long sleeve tops, a khaki-ish wide leg pant, and a knit skirt. Then by chance if i wanted to work out (riiiiight) on the ship I threw in performance activewear which would also do double duty if we encountered a ridiculously cold day somewhere and I needed a thermal layer. This is where I netted out:

All the pieces laid out

And how it fit in the suitcase. Packing tip: Roll your clothes! you'll fit soooo much more in the bag and lessen the chance of having to iron certain pieces. Not pictured below, the boyfriend blazer that laid on top of everything.

It's all in there!

And there's my 1 bag! I'll try to show my daily outfits as I recap. It all worked out - I'm pretty sure I may have repeated an outfit maybe 1 or 2x. By the way - I have to note there was a laundry day in the middle of this trip so even though individual pieces were repeated - they were CLEAN!

18 days. 6 countries. 1 bag: The itinerary

2011-12-13T00:34:00.000-05:00

On 10-10-10, I got married at a gorgeous resort in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. It was a small intimate breathtaking (but still ridiculously fun) 3 day event that will go down as one of the most memorable moments in my life. Hard to believe that not too far from that notch on top 10 life-list will be the honeymoon that followed just a year later. Initially our plans were to take a transatlantic cruise from the Rome to Ft. Lauderdale (cheaper airfare!) but when the ports were changed or taken away (like Monte carlo), and then a hard to pass up deal arose on a 10-night eastern Mediterranean cruise around our booking time - we did a switcharoo and snapped up the bargain (tip #1: be flexible and open minded with travel plans!). so the most important part was done: Cruise - check.

The cruise itinerary was as follows:
Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy / Sicily (Messina), Italy / Valletta, Malta / At Sea / Chania (Souda),Crete, Greece / Rhodes, Greece / Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey / Athens (Piraeus), Greece / At Sea / Naples/Capri, Italy / Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

We learned from an earlier European trip that it was easy to get around to other countries using the budget airlines. Unfortunately what we flew before, Vueling, didn't serve the same cities. EasyJet did however and had prices that just couldn't be beat. So we decided on Virgin Atlantic for the hop across the pond then easyjet to get around to other countries. This conveniently added London to our list, giving us the opportunity to visit some close friends. However post-cruise I wanted to add another city to our itinerary so after tossing around cities like Amsterdam (cold?) Ibiza (off-season/cold) Lisbon (ehh?) Bilbao (only because I saw that guggenheim museum) Milan (not much to see) we landed on Madrid for it's nightlife and close comparison to Barcelona (which we loved).

Planning this itinerary was fun thanks to the low airfares of EasyJet but logistically was a bit of a nightmare since I had to give us the flexibility of time getting to the cruise or to the airport. So here's how we ended up:

Fly to London - chill with friends for two days
Fly to Rome - two days. if we're up to it, train to Florence for a day-trip
Train to Civitavecchia to board ship for 10-day cruise (see above)
Arrive back at Civitavecchia and take the high-speed train to Milan
Next day flight to Madrid - two days
Flight back to NYC via layover in London

I just got tired typing that up. But it was awesome... some things didn't go as planned, there were some potential hiccups (strikes!) but all in all it was amazing and a great way to get a taste of the Mediterranean. Next up.. Packing.

Morning run

2011-12-11T14:03:00.001-05:00

It was a brisk 34 degree morning when I went for my morning run. I was jamming to a playlist of Rihanna, Robin Thicke, and Kimbra. It's been a while since I've ran anything more than 3 miles so it was comforting to know that I won't pass out after more than than 20 minutes of running. I dropped by the West Elm Dumbo and Journey home (nice store!) for some visual mental snapshots of holiday displays. swooon!

@eunicek: The downside of running is having to turn around and go back.. Morning manhattan skyline...

The route.

Eastern Mediterranean trip recap coming soon!

2011-12-05T15:44:00.001-05:00

6 countries, 18 days... I'll try to recap as best as I can but first is the ginormous task of organizing thousands of photos. *sigh* i need a vacation.

On set

2011-11-08T14:00:00.001-05:00

While on set shooting a video on a farm, I took a few shots on the side. My fav is the cat who walked around like it owned the place.

In transit

Runs the place

peeking in the equipment shed

Event recap: Geisha Night with the Sachika Twins

2011-08-23T12:00:00.011-04:00

Friday Night, I had the pleasure of attending Geisha Night hosted by the gorgeous Sachika twins at NYC hotspot,Greenhouse. They are amazing designers who's sexy, creative fashions have graced the pages of Vogue, Elle, and on the bodies of most of your favorite female celebrities. Not only are they super beautiful, but they so sweet and family-oriented as well—my kind of gals :) You can catch them on the E! reality show Ice Loves Coco.

Taking over NYC's streets

2011-08-22T11:58:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite NYC events every year: Summer Streets is when Park Ave is shut down to traffic from 72nd St. to the Brooklyn Bridge for 5 hours, for 3 consecutive Saturdays in August. It's such a unique experience to be able to bike, run, jog, walk, or skate Park Ave with no cars whatsover. I've had the pleasure of participating in summer streets for 4 consecutive years now with Crunch. From dance classes to leading demo stations, it's a wonderful experience to be a part of. The PSA above played in all of the NYC cabs this year. The crazy thing is that I just happened to be in a cab one night when this ad played and literally did a doubletake and thought, hold up - that's me!

Previous years:

with isa[dance] in 2008:

Teaching Beach Body in 2009:

Retrorobics in 2010:

and rebounding/bosu in 2011:

Spice up those outdoor runs

2011-07-29T09:39:00.010-04:00

The benefit of running outside is that you're presented with endless reasons to explore your own city. Here in NYC, we're exposed to a variety of landscapes and neighborhoods that are just begging to be discovered and if you live here, I definitely encourage you to take advantage of it! From the Hudson River greenway, to the East river paths, to Prospect and Central Parks, not only will we be taking in all the views that NYC has to offer, but you'll also be hitting a variety of terrains and elevation that can help you improve your running.

Once you start running regularly (about 3x a week for at least a month or two) you might get to the point where you'll feel ready to push yourself to the next level. There are two things you can do to challenge yourself to build up strength and speed: hills and speedwork.

Hills: There's nothing like the hills of Central Park and Prospect Park to improve leg strength. Two tips I can offer for tackling hills is to shorten your steps and slow down your pace. If you're nowhere near NYC or areas of elevation, don't rule out bridges. These are also great opportunities for incorporating hills into your workout. I'm a huge fan of the Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges (free of tourists!)

Speedwork: When you've got a flat course like the Hudson River Greenway or the East River Bikeway on your workout agenda, use speedwork (or interval workouts) to train your muscles and heart to help you run faster and longer. Out of the tons of workouts available online, try to find ones tailored to your present ability level and goals. But be careful with jumping into speedwork: it's an advanced training technique for intermediate-advanced runners and without the guidance of an experienced coach, can lead to injury.

Do you incorporate hills and speedwork into your runs? If so, where and what goes into your workouts?

What I want to do this weekend: hit up a block party

2011-07-28T11:46:00.000-04:00

The free, all ages Mad Decent Block Party 2011 hits The South Street Seaport, (Pier 17),with an all-star lineup of djs and artists: Major Lazer, Curren$y, Gang Gang Dance, The Hood Internet, Zed's Dead, Claude VonStroke , Maluca , Bosco Delrey , Reptar, Po Po and a Vampire Weekend Dj Set. Midday Until 9pm. It's gonna be a madhouse but this looks really fun. Grab your friends and your dancing shoes.

Top 3 Tuesdays

2011-07-26T10:00:00.024-04:00

So as a dancer and choreographer, it's amazing to see how much hip hop dance has grown within mainstream culture over the past two decades. So much so that "hip hop" as a genre is a misleading term...but it's the best all-encompassing label to use when speaking to non-dance folk. The fact that there's dance contest shows like So You Think You Can Dance on network tv (not cable) just goes to show you how popular it is. I can literally spend HOURS watching dancers and choreographers on youtube - the talent out there is amazing. So I'd like to pay tribute to all the phenoms out there— dancers and choreographers—with my Top 3 Tuesday Youtube picks. Not gonna front, there will be some repeats with choreographers but that's only because they're so talented I can't just pick ONE!

Anyway, here's the first E-picks for Top 3 Tuesdays on Da 8-count:

JaQuel Knight: "Make it Rain" by Travis Porter.

If you haven't heard of JaQuel Knight I can guarantee you 100% that you've seen his work. Just go here or here. Exactly. I love choreographers for this reason though, the ability to make artists shine. The style in my pick above is totally different from what you saw on Bey's most popular video. But i love this one oohhh so much better.. it's got alot of flavor and the musicality in steps fits the song so well. Plus I have a soft spot for choreographers who pick "dirty" songs lol. I would love to take his class if he ever comes to NYC!

Moon Zhang: "Bang" by KP ft. Lost Generation

Moon Zhang from I.aM.mE, MTV America's Best Dance Crew 2011 champions, mostly laid low during the video packages during the crew's run to the trophy this season so it wasn't until I stumbled onto this video that I see now that he's a big reason to their success. the female dancer, Olivia Gonzales aka Chachi, has a super promising dance career ahead of her...she was a total fan favorite. I watched MANY IamMe videos but this one is topping the list. The flow from intricate steps to groove steps is seamless (its tough to do!) and that's what I LOVE about Moon's choreo. Groove steps are what I deem easy steps (usually big moves- like a body roll, or even just a simple stylish walk) when the choreographer's flavor and a dancer's personality play happily together. I find often (mostly new) choreographers forget to throw this into routines.

Luam Keflezgy: "Mannequin" by Trish

I'm warning you now: this isn't the last you'll see Luam on my top 3 ...this girl brings it every time. Super prolific commercially, she's done work for commercials, music videos, and artists (Kelly Rowland anyone?) alike it'll be interesting to see what she will do for HUGE big budget productions. I remember her training (under?) Jermaine Browne (another top 3 feature soon) when I first moved to NYC and it's CRAZY but not surprising to see her growth. its well deserved - she's talented and a very positive and nice person at heart (who doesn't love that?) I LOVE this choreo though from her BDC dance class. If you ever want to hear good music from an artist who hasn't blown up or is about to blow up, better believe you'll hear it in a dance class. In this video, it's Trish... who I still haven't heard in mainstream. oh well.

Mixtape Monday: R&B Pop

2011-07-25T16:34:00.000-04:00

I was back at Toro Lounge djing the Champagne Friday event this past weekend and it was great to see a bunch of old friends come through. My friend and author Kevin Reeves was in attendance signing new copies of his book, s.m.i.l.e. and my super close friend, Gigi is off to Dubai so it was a farewell party to see her off as well. Good times were had by all. Hope to post some pics of the event soon but in the meantime:

Grab a FREE DOWNLOAD of the first part of my mix from Champagne Friday.
Live from Toro Lounge in New York City, NY.

Bastille day fun

2011-07-22T02:09:00.003-04:00

Last thursday I was at Toro Lounge djing for their special Bastille Day party. It was a mixed crowd and considering the theme, I thought I should lean towards more european dance artists but lo and behold, the requests started coming in for some hip hop.. and FAST! Just goes to show you how music is universal and in the end, everyone just wants to dance! Below is part 1 of my bastille day mix. Enjoy!

Bastille Day Mix by Sefa by djsefa

Pantone crazy...

2011-07-14T12:17:00.000-04:00

Tattone Tat from Tattly (say that 3x fast)

Stumbled across these temporary tattoos from tatt.ly via DesignSponge. I would rock almost all of the designs listed but I'm totally feelin the Tattone. I think I like everything that's related to Pantone. I'm such a geek.

I want this.

I own one of these.

Really? ha.. cool!

I did not see this at Sephora. Hello!

Start 'em early: Lemonade ad

2011-04-13T19:08:00.002-04:00

This Verizon ad totally reminds me of my young early days of starting a graphic design business. Ironically, I remember being featured in the Tampa Tribune about being a young entrepreneur that also had "lemonade" in the story headline. Blast from the past:

(agh! those braces! haha)

And my perks and pitfalls of learning as you go were mentioned in an article featured in Entrepreneur magazine back in 2002. Here's to hoping it'll run in the family. Young moguls take note.

Event recap: Pretty Girls Rock Dresses @ Tracey Reese

2011-04-07T18:30:00.001-04:00

Last night, M and I trekked in the spitting rain to the Tracey Reese boutique for Claire's Pretty Girls Rock Dresses Fashion mixer (more pics from the event on her blog). Everybody was on their fashion A game and the mood was light and fun and with everyone mingling nicely. Props to Claire and the other fashion bloggers for putting on a nice event. I have never been to the Tracey Reese boutique and was lovin all the collections. With the event's 20% discount, I scooped up a multicolored Plenty by Tracey Reese dress. M was rockin a TR top and black slacks (sorry we forgot to get her photo opp!). I'm definitely looking forward to adding more TR pieces to my closet.

Girls rockin the runway.... (r: Tracey Reese dress. L: with Claire of FashionBombdaily.com)

The funniest bit of the whole night was that it was also the first night of the company basketball league. Doublebooked calendar - sheesh. I pulled a clark kent and went from bombshell to baller in a matter of minutes. The open run was great and was my cardio workout to the max. I played 2 back to back games and feelin the effects today. Still, I'm looking forward to the rest of this season - we have a good team this year!

and girls rockin the court.

EAT your heart out

2011-04-07T17:34:00.000-04:00

Photo at http://midtownlunch.com/

Totally bummed I don't work near the World Financial Center because I would have been here, sampling all the dishes at the EAT Restaurant showcase that took place today from 11am-2pm. I went last year and it was good but this year, Ed's lobster bar was in attendance. I love lobster rolls! oh well, next year I guess...

On my first Billboard!

2011-03-30T11:10:00.001-04:00

So Mr. P and I were walkin down lafayette on our way to check out a bespoke tailor and I ran into a Crunch billboard with me on it! Whoa! it's like a supersize me!

Djing at the Smyth hotel

2011-03-07T23:40:00.002-05:00

Had an awesome time this past saturday spinning for my first gig at the Smyth hotel in tribeca. Lots of friends came by to have a drink and support - it was good times!

Harvard Love Story shoot 2010

2010-11-23T11:07:00.004-05:00

We got more pics back from our shoot and I am seriously fainting from how much I love how these turned out. Soft, vintage-y with pops of color. Seriously folks, if you're in the new england area and you need photos - hit up Kristen & Ryan stat. And they're soo sweet too! Anyhow, i'mma stop gushing and just get on with the pics:

UH yeah ..someone please call JCREW and tell them we need our royalties for this photo lol..looks like it came straight out of the catalog!
See more goodies here: Tea & Honey Photography