we’re only hearts & bones & blood (but we are giants)

Posted on January 27, 2016 by sorellaaglio

Slacking this early in the year – but here I am, getting back to it. Since this serendipitously ended up on Traci’s birthday, I will speak to her beautiful soul on her 30th birthday.

Traci, you’re one of the bests. The people that makes me laugh the loudest, the longest, the hardest. You can always make me smile, always have something to tell me that will make me cry tears of happiness, and you obsess about the weird shit I obsess about like Lin-Manuel and GG and Marc Broussard, etc. etc. I love you to the moon, and I am so glad that we became friends in a moderately-sized Kasteel in Nederland, only to live a mile from each other ten years later and more than 5,500 miles from where we started.

I am so thankful for ten years of inappropriate hand-holding, adventuring around Europe and around Boston and around Los Angeles, and for your making every day an adventure – whether we’re going to Trader Joe’s, hiking with Ray, or just sitting in someone’s driveway listening to Justin Timberlake, you make life more fun to be living.

Here’s a smattering of photos of us over the years – and here’s to many, many more.

You and these five other beauties have made my life so much richer over the past ten years, and I can’t think of a better way to start celebrating 10 years from this trip than with a celebration of YOU. Happy Birthday, and see ya tonight! XOXO

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it is the only thing that makes us feel alive

Posted on October 11, 2015 by sorellaaglio

Yesterday I headed back into the yoga studio after six weeks away because of my wrist. If we’re being honest, spraining my wrist was the first injury I’ve ever had that really made me feel like I was never going to physically be the same, and that scared the daylights out of me. As the weeks went on and my wrist didn’t just snap back, I felt like maybe my age was showing and I should be more careful with myself.

Well, after a stressful week of work and life and dogsitting and 90 degree weather and too much on my plate, I felt my shoulders scrunching right up and I wasn’t sleeping, waking up with a racing mind and fretful heart. I knew it was time to get back. I was supposed to run for my half-training, but I knew I wasn’t going to push myself to run 5 miles in 90 degrees and full sun in the name of…what?

Wasn’t this half supposed to be something that I’m doing for the results, not the end? I’m in it to build strength, endurance, muscle, and clarity in my runs. Not to run a half marathon that’ll impress…who? Running is one of those things I wish I was better at, but often dread. I was sick of dreading my workouts.

So I went to the yoga studio down the street. And I flowed for an hour. And I bought a 30 day pass at a steal (the price of two classes, it’s already paid itself off) and I felt really, really, really happy. The way exercise is meant to make you feel, and if we’re being honest, everything. Isn’t it? Everything should make you happy. With the right beats, even cleaning is fun.

Speaking of which, yesterday I also spent a fair amount of time packing with the girls. (Thanks T, A, and M, you’re amazing.) We danced to Whitney (god bless) and we packed and moved boxes and took out the trash, and A patched the holes in my walls. M wrapped my valuables, and T dusted every frame that was on our walls (that’s a lot.) My heart was just so full.

We’re moving, in case you didn’t gather, or know, and it’s in a week, and Jeff’s been in the canyon since last Saturday, and yesterday was literally a perfect day of friends and love and happiness that made me feel really, really lucky to be who I am.

Today, I got up and went to yoga again and flowed, and I was careful with my still-a-little-achy wrist (backing off every vinyasa, not pushing myself to crow, still feeling sweaty and worked and stretched.) I got home and made blueberry scones. I am drinking iced coffee. Jeff is due back soon, and this day is perfect day number two. Correlation to yoga? Perhaps.

The heat’s going to break this week. I am praying and intention-ing that this is the last heat wave, and we can roll into 80s and then 70s and I can run and finish my half and do yoga and be happy, healthy, and full.

That’s where my head’s at this Sunday. Namaste, bitches. Hope you’re happy, healthy, full. xo

Coney Island + NY 2015

Posted on August 21, 2015 by sorellaaglio

laughter on the playground

Posted on May 15, 2015 by sorellaaglio

I talk about yoga lot here, and I think about it a lot in my life. If I could go to yoga at a studio every day, I would consider my life most perfect. Meanwhile I try to make time at home for yoga a couple times a week, if not more, and then go to the studio when I can fit it into my schedule.

On Tuesday, I was going to Ana’s in the evening, but because I get off earlier than everyone else I had three hours to kill and didn’t want to drive home to drive back to the Valley. Enter 5:00 pm yoga class, and heaven.

It was a mixed community class, and I wasn’t sure what to expect – would it be too easy? Would it be too hard? Was it enough time (most classes are an hour and a half, this one was just an hour)? It was perfect, per usual. It was vinyasa flow, and it made me sweat, try some new transitions, and challenge myself.

At one point, we were in revolved side angle pose, and our teacher wanted us to move into a one legged balancing pose I had never encountered in my practice, something like revolved half moon but with your hands in prayer instead of bound or spread.

Basically from this, but with hands in prayer, then shifting your weight forward into this:

And keeping your heart open to the sky whilst doing it.

Anyways, the first side was balancing on my right leg, and as I went to take the leap forward to balance on one leg, I slipped and tumbled forward on to my mat, giggling all the way. It is always fun to try your hand at a new pose, because it’s fun to see what your body can handle, what it can’t, and how to get yourself to trust yourself enough to just lean in. It’s like on my wedding day when Lauren tried to get us into baby grasshopper pose, and I just was laughing my head off.

The happiness emulated in this photo is everything – I was with my best friends in the world, I was about to get married, I was trying a new yoga pose, and my heart was light. I laughed and laughed at the progress I could feel and all the places I had yet to be and the effort it had taken to get where I was and the effort that it was going to take to get where I wanted to be.

But back to yoga class – the teacher in the moment whipped her head around to see where the laughter was coming from and said, “YES! YES EXACTLY. This is a playground. We should be hearing that – we should be hearing laughter. This is a safe space for you to explore. YES!” And it was so uplifting to me to be lifted to a place where I felt safe playing and laughing and learning. Later in the class I did a headstand for the first time in a class without a wall, and I felt an immense sense of accomplishment. I have so far to go, but I’ve come so far.

Happy Friday, friends. I hope you have time for yoga this weekend. Namaste.

And we’re set alight, we’re afire love

Posted on January 11, 2015 by sorellaaglio

Another year of tree burning down. This year we celebrated on January 3, right after new years. There were a handful of people who came straight from the airport, committed to making the family reunion, sleepiness be damned. This year was unusually cold, and we all had a couple extra layers on as the sun settled down across the horizon and the trees flared through the sky.

There was an amazing sunset and it was lovely to see everyone after a holiday apart. These events always bring the love and friendship and really, family, that we have in Los Angeles to the forefront of my mind, and this event is one of my favorite of the year – an amazing start to another amazing year. Plus, I always love heading back to the place where Jeff asked me to marry him in front of these same friends. It’s a reminder of all that we’ve been through together and all that’s yet to come.

Happy 2015, y’all. Thanks to Jeff for the photos, more here.