Sunday, October 24, 2010
The best Sunday ever...
My lovely thoughtful husband just brought this back from his trip this week to NYC...even though it's yesterday's paper I will pretend it's from today, and read it all day. My ideal Sunday begins now.
Straight outta central casting
This guy is currently running for Governor of NY State...how brilliant. I know Geneva is dubbed "an international city" but, c'mon, when have you ever seen anyone like this walking around the streets?! I LOVE NY!!!
via Gawker TV.
Here is SNLTV's parody (almost more genius)...
via Gawker TV.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Today I'm missing...
A friend reminded me yesterday how much I'm missing my PJ's iced coffee (cold weather or not)...
Then, last night I made fries with Old Bay Seasoning
and realized how much I missed overflowing lobster rolls from the Mermaid Inn on 2nd Ave in NYC.
Ponzu Sauce comes a close third. Brought some back from the states last trip, but am slowly running out. What will my steamed vegetables do without it?
Happy Friday!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Strikes!
Well, this is one thing I am really glad rarely exists here in Switzerland: striking.
I bought into the hysteria coming from France and filled up the car yesterday just in case. Good thing I don't need to go anywhere soon.
Vive la Suisse!
I bought into the hysteria coming from France and filled up the car yesterday just in case. Good thing I don't need to go anywhere soon.
Vive la Suisse!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
A good gym is hard to find
Ok, I think we've all had issues finding a good gym here in Suisse. I long for the days when I was in NYC and I was only steps from the best gyms and yoga studios at any given moment (equinox, crunch, om yoga, bikram yoga nyc, jivamukti yoga). Going to the gym here is like stepping (no pun intended) back into the 1980's. The classes currently being offered include: step, "body pump", and "abs-thighs-buns". I'd be better off using my Jane Fonda Aerobics VCR tape at home (if we hadn't sold it at a garage sale about 25 years ago).
Today I sent my second letter this year to my current gym, Silhouette, to resign my membership. You see, last year, I resigned (or thought I did) but my resignation was "not accepted" because my registered letter did not arrive in time to cancel my membership properly. Don't even get me started, but apparently you can't resign from a gym here even if you've moved out of the country, become deathly ill or have been conscripted into the army. ugh. Anyway, I had to pay all year for a membership I didn't use. The gym is dirty, smelly, hot, and the unimaginative classes they offer are always too crowded. I literally was kicked repeatedly by the woman in front of me during my last class I took there over six months ago. That was the straw that broke the camel's back.
My simple ideas for a great gym:
Super clean changing rooms & showers
Fresh, inventive classes (just check out the fun they're having at Crunch!)
Talented teachers
Free or inexpensive towel loan
Lockers that work and are clean
A website that is easy to navigate, with class / teacher listings
Nice people at reception
And if I'm pushing it, a juice / coffee bar and a creche!
If anyone has any interest in opening up a New York style gym with me, let me know! I'm game but have no experience, just passion and in-depth knowledge of what works (and of course, I can design the heck out of a gym). I've even found a great location for one.
There is one amazing gym here I was lucky enough to try out for a free week - L'usine Opera. It is everything I could ask for except it's in central geneva which is a pain for me during the week (oh, and it costs upwards of 4000 chf / year). It's beautifully designed, clean and has fabulous teachers/classes. Oh how I wish I could afford it.
After months of searching/trying classes, I finally found a great yoga studio in Nyon, called Temple du Yoga. Yogiraj Alain is a proper yogi, and his classes are the closest thing to NYC I've found. Bravo! You'll see me there. Om.
Today I sent my second letter this year to my current gym, Silhouette, to resign my membership. You see, last year, I resigned (or thought I did) but my resignation was "not accepted" because my registered letter did not arrive in time to cancel my membership properly. Don't even get me started, but apparently you can't resign from a gym here even if you've moved out of the country, become deathly ill or have been conscripted into the army. ugh. Anyway, I had to pay all year for a membership I didn't use. The gym is dirty, smelly, hot, and the unimaginative classes they offer are always too crowded. I literally was kicked repeatedly by the woman in front of me during my last class I took there over six months ago. That was the straw that broke the camel's back.
My simple ideas for a great gym:
Super clean changing rooms & showers
Fresh, inventive classes (just check out the fun they're having at Crunch!)
Talented teachers
Yoga classes
Pre-natal yoga classes
Yummy smelling shower gel dispensers
Relaxing environment (i.e. nice finishes: tile, wood, good lighting) in changing rooms
Free or inexpensive towel loan
Lockers that work and are clean
A website that is easy to navigate, with class / teacher listings
Nice people at reception
And if I'm pushing it, a juice / coffee bar and a creche!
If anyone has any interest in opening up a New York style gym with me, let me know! I'm game but have no experience, just passion and in-depth knowledge of what works (and of course, I can design the heck out of a gym). I've even found a great location for one.
There is one amazing gym here I was lucky enough to try out for a free week - L'usine Opera. It is everything I could ask for except it's in central geneva which is a pain for me during the week (oh, and it costs upwards of 4000 chf / year). It's beautifully designed, clean and has fabulous teachers/classes. Oh how I wish I could afford it.
After months of searching/trying classes, I finally found a great yoga studio in Nyon, called Temple du Yoga. Yogiraj Alain is a proper yogi, and his classes are the closest thing to NYC I've found. Bravo! You'll see me there. Om.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Now available in Switzerland!
Rejoice fellow shoppers, drumroll please...
Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athleta and PiperLime are all now shipping to Switzerland and 49 other countries. This is H U G E. Now, I haven't had the opportunity / need to use their relatively new service yet, as luckily my parents are kind enough to bring over my orders when they visit from the states, but I will definitely try it soon.
There is no equivalent of any of these shops here (at any price). When you have kids you develop a new respect for the Gap and Old Navy especially...they have sturdy, usually stylish kids (Stella McCartney for GapKids!) clothes at ridiculous prices. When you have a rough and tumble (and extremely fast-growing) boy like I do, clothes never last very long anyway, so why spend huge amounts of money? I am also convinced that all the boy's clothes here are way too girly, whether they have spiderman on them or not.
Banana Republic is genius for staple work clothes for mommy, and Athleta has the best workout gear. PiperLime is young and stylish and puts together great looks.
They all seem to be having huge sales lately, so go for it and let me know how it goes!
Also - a favorite of interior designers for interesting (cheap) finds, Overstock.com also just started shipping here. This is just revolutionary. Not sure how the import duties will be, but for things that are definitely "not available in switzerland" I'm sure it's still a steal. There's a lot to wade through, but it's loads of fun.
Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athleta and PiperLime are all now shipping to Switzerland and 49 other countries. This is H U G E. Now, I haven't had the opportunity / need to use their relatively new service yet, as luckily my parents are kind enough to bring over my orders when they visit from the states, but I will definitely try it soon.
There is no equivalent of any of these shops here (at any price). When you have kids you develop a new respect for the Gap and Old Navy especially...they have sturdy, usually stylish kids (Stella McCartney for GapKids!) clothes at ridiculous prices. When you have a rough and tumble (and extremely fast-growing) boy like I do, clothes never last very long anyway, so why spend huge amounts of money? I am also convinced that all the boy's clothes here are way too girly, whether they have spiderman on them or not.
Banana Republic is genius for staple work clothes for mommy, and Athleta has the best workout gear. PiperLime is young and stylish and puts together great looks.
They all seem to be having huge sales lately, so go for it and let me know how it goes!
Also - a favorite of interior designers for interesting (cheap) finds, Overstock.com also just started shipping here. This is just revolutionary. Not sure how the import duties will be, but for things that are definitely "not available in switzerland" I'm sure it's still a steal. There's a lot to wade through, but it's loads of fun.
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