{To health and happiness}

Hi there,

as many of my friends are asking me what I am doing on a daily basis to be happy and healthy, here are a few tips on simple food suggestions, supplements and exercises that keep me focused, happy and motivated.

Food
I make my own almond milk!
There are many, many recipes out there and some of them sound really yummy but seem to be a lot of work. So, I figured I should do it the easy, hassle free way!
All it takes it 2 hands full of either overnight soaked almonds or raw, roasted almonds, a blender and 1L of water. Blend everything for about 2 minutes and ta-taaaaa - Almond Milk. I don't mind the almond meal that sits in the bottom of the blender after it's all mixed but if you prefer to strain it through either a cheese cloth or a fine strainer, go ahead. We use it for our coffee, cereal and my favorite...

Chia seed breakfast!
Put 3-4 table spoons of chia seeds in a cereal bowl, cover with almond milk and stir them in so they are all covered with it. Then, take 1-2 table spoons of slivered almonds and stir them in as well. Place bowl in fridge and let is soak over night. In the morning, this has all turned into a chia seed pudding to which I like to add 2 table spoons of apple sauce and some cinnamon. Ta-taaaa - super healthy breakfast. I usually don't eat the whole bowl, so I just put it back in the fridge and have the rest the next morning. Super easy - literally takes 2 minutes to prepare!

Salads
I have at least one salad a day (yes, sometimes I even have a breakfast salad) ! I love to put tons of healthy veggies such as avocado, broccoli, chickpeas, radish, tomatoes and pumpkin seeds in it. Usually I have it for lunch at work because it's easy and I feel light and energized afterwards! No more 2PM "I want to take a nap" times. For dressings, I usually go simple with just freshly squeezed lemon and olive oil.

Supplements
Probiotics
Good digestion = happy Babo! So I have been taking {these vegan Probiotics} since the {Annual Juice Fast} back in January and it makes all the difference! I never thought probiotics would actually make me a happier person! But they do!

Magnesium
I take at least one to two 400mg Magnesium pills a day, depending on how much I work out and if I am sore or not. Also, ladies - no more cramps if you take your magnesium! I promise you! Also, many people suffering from insomnia and depression often times just have a magnesium insufficiency, so if you are suffering from either try loading up your system with deep green veggies (they have the most magnesium) and maybe try my favorite supplement {Calm}! It will change everything!

Vitamin C
I take at least 500mg of Vitamin C a day, if I feel tired or as if a cold is coming I take up to 1500mg. After watching {"Food Matters"} and learning about the impact Vitamin C can have on your health, I never forget to take it (and I haven't had a cold in over a year and 5 months!)

Exercises
Smile
Whenever you are on the train, by yourself, reading, listen to music - {SMILE}! By smiling, I simply mean, relax your face and put on the slightest tiny smile. It will change your mood instantly!

Work out
It really doesn't take a lot - even just running or cycling for 30 minutes will change your mood and make  your body pour out these endorphins that will make you feel like a thousand bucks! You will be proud of yourself and be in a good mood for a long time. And another great benefit is, that you will sleep like a baby!

"Device - free - me - time"
I like to just sit on the train (yes, with that smile on my face - call me crazy) and look around and really be in my environment. No reading, no playing anything on any device. Just sit and look. Same when I walk to the train, I don't listen to music, I listen to the cars, the birds, other people talking, music playing somewhere, kids laughter or crying - it can be very soothing.

Coachella 2013 {GUESS HOTEL}

Hi all,

so as I mentioned in my last {post} we hung out at the GUESS HOTEL on Saturday afternoon and enjoyed the sun (actually the shade), hydrated on some lemon water and got rated by {The Bumbys}! It was a perfect afternoon - as you can clearly see below!

Coachella 2013 {fun times}

Hi all,

so, I just got back from {Coachella} and once again - it was amazing! Parris and I flew to L.A. on Wednesday last week, stayed at my friend Kim's house for two days settling in to the West Coast time zone and enjoying the lovely weather out there.

On Friday morning we drove out to Palm Springs to check into the {Saguaro}. There was already a pool party happening, Forever21 and Tigi had a booth and we hung out for a while before getting on the shuttle bus to the festival site.

Saturday, we went for a nice lunch at a local vegan spot where Moby had lunch next to us, then hung out at the GUESS house for a while at the pool and eventually went to the festival site again to watch a few bands play live!

But Sunday was really the day we were looking forward to! We watched Gaslight Anthem, the Lumineers, Social Distortion, WU TANG CLAN, La Roux and Dead Can Dance. It was quite crazy as a sand storm hit the festival site around 6pm and we were all bundled up, wearing sunglasses and scarfs to protect ourselves from the sand blowing in our faces. And it was cold! Yes, cold!!!

Overall, we had a blast! It was very relaxing, totally nice and I couldn't be happier to have gone!

The Saguaro Hotel in Palm Springs

Friday night at the festival site at sunset!

Dead Can Dance on stage during the sand storm!

{Michael Schmidt's 3D dress}

So, the other day we were honored to be invited to {Michael Schmidt's} fashion presentation of the first 3D printed gown. The dress is pieced together by several 3D printed pieces and embellished with 12.000 Swarovski crystals.

I was completely speechless and struck by how beautiful it looks and of course by how Dita looked in it. Absolutely AMAZING!

Parris and I had a super nice time - a big THANK YOU to Michael Schmidt!!!!

Amazing, groundbreaking, unbelievable!

Here you can somewhat see what the structure of the dress is...

Andrej, Dita, Debbie Harry & Michael

Parris sporting his awesome DIESEL jean jacket! 

All pictures by Babo in the City

It's that time of the year again! {New York Fashion Week}

Hi all,

it's that time of the year again - Fashion Week in NYC/Fall Collections 2013 will start this coming Thursday! This time around, I won't be working on any exciting shows, but will be watching some of them.

I couldn't be more excited to share a wonderful project a friend of ours has been working on! {Michael Schmidt} is an amazing designer who has designed and engineered a gown that has been printed by a 3D printer. He will be presenting the gown this Saturday at the ACE Hotel and no other than his muse Dita von Teese will be presenting it! Wow! How exciting is THAT!

Also, I will be at the {Project Runway Fashion Show} at Lincoln Center which should be very exciting! Let's see what the contestants have to show this year!

I will update you with pictures soon!

Second annual Juice Cleanse {results}

Hi all,

So, I am happy to announce that the second annual spring cleanse is officially OVER! We completed 14 days of juicing (only) and are starting to eat again as of today!!!

For breakfast we had a delicious apple, pair, date and water smoothie. For lunch, I cooked the pulp of our last nights kale, parsley and carrot juice along with a tiny bit of olive oil and some herbs and about a liter of water. After the veggies simmered at level 2 on our stove for about an hour I added about a handful of raw cashews and let the soup sit for another hour. Then I blended it all in our Vita Mix blender and served it with half a diced avocado in a bowl, sprinkled some nutritional yeast on it and topped it of with fresh ground black pepper! YUM!

Anyways, I wanted to share the most obvious results of the cleanse with you! Here's a collage with 4 of the pictures taken during the cleanse. Upper left is day one of the vegan, grain and alcohol free 10 day period. Upper right is right before the juice fast, lower left is about day 6 of the juice fast and the last one was taken today.