Road Trip Through Southern Portugal

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Last year, we decided to celebrate my 35th by taking a road trip in southern Portugal. Bryan flew in early for work and he planned the beginning of the trip, so when he picked me up at the Lisbon airport, I didn’t know what to expect. We drove about three hours south and, to my surprise and delight, the first stop was absolutely perfect.

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A Week in Cartagena, Colombia

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When our trip to Ecuador fell through, we ended up making a visit to Cartagena. I’m so glad we did (though I still hope to get to Ecuador someday)! Cartagena is a beautiful city for eating and enjoying life. The walled Old City takes you back in time, with uneven stone streets and historic squares. Colorful buildings and art give it a contemporary vibe.

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Happy New Year!

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I ended the year in the best way: An LBI tiny wave sunset surf session with the greatest of friends. It was the perfect cap on a year that has, for me, been a transformative year in learning to surf and actually “getting it.” I’m starting to understand the power of winter wetsuits, and I swear, it’s really not that cold (until you get out of the water)! This picture was followed by a warm shower and many NYE snacks and cocktails.

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A Yoga Retreat in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

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For the past three years, most of the vacations I’ve taken have been “work-cations” where I teach on yoga and surf retreats with Surf Sweat Serve. But this year, I decided I needed a 100% vacation, so I decided to sign up for a yoga retreat with my local New Jersey studio, Yoga Bohemia. No teaching, just taking it all in and enjoying classes taught by my lovely yogi friends.

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Our Favorite Things in Antigua, Guatemala

Antigua is such an enchanting city. The surrounding volcanos provide stunning backdrops and the popularity of rooftop cafes and bars offer excellent viewing points. Everywhere you look, you’re reminded of the beauty and power of nature. A few years ago, I spent a month teaching yoga in Nicaragua and I stopped in Antigua on the way back. It was the kind of city where I had a feeling I’d return. This spring, I finally did.

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El Salvador Retreat: October 1-8

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I’m one week away from heading back to El Salvador for a surf and yoga retreat with my friend Pixie and her company, Surf Sweat Serve, from October 1st-8th, 2023. I’ll be teaching yoga classes every morning, and there will be plenty of time for surfing, swimming, adventuring, and relaxing by the pool. We still have a few spots open, and flights from both JFK and LAX are looking pretty good! If you’re a last-minute planner and still want to join, you can register here.

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5 Reasons to Visit Borneo

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On New Year’s Day, we set off to explore a new place: Borneo. This revelation has left many friends and family members scratching their heads asking, “What is Borneo?” “Where is Borneo?” and “Why Borneo?” Well, Borneo is the third-largest island in the world (not counting continents), and it’s off the east coast of Malaysia. It’s bigger than I ever knew!

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Starting the Year in Singapore

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I’m still catching up on my travels! It’s March and I’ve been on a few flights already this year. Right after Christmas, my boyfriend and I flew to Singapore. He needed to go there for work, but we departed a week early to squeeze in some vacation time. The hotel was expensed, and I would only needed to pay for my flight, so I said “Alright, let’s go!”

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Southern Road Trip

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Well, this post has been a long time coming. But a couple months ago, my boyfriend and I loaded the Bailey dog into the car and took ourselves on a sweet southern road trip. Our main destination was St. Augustine, FL because the yoga studio where I teach here just opened up a new location down there. We aimed to do some yoga, surf, and enjoy the warmer weather, and that’s exactly what we did.

St. Augustine was very charming. I can see why Katie, our beloved Yoga Bohemia studio owner, couldn’t resist signing a lease down there. The streets were quiet during the week we stayed (they would pick up for the Night of Lights right after we left.) There were plenty of great restaurants with delicious food, and some quirky little bars, like Tini Martini, which was fully decked out for the light show.

We enjoyed a week of working from our Airbnb (with a couple days off of course), and learning more about the history of the U.S.’s oldest city. One of the highlights was touring Ft. Matanzas National Monument. Other highlights include eating a million biscuits and surfing under a sunset rainbow… the mental pictures are unbeatable!

St. Augustine favorites:

On the way back, we spent a couple nights in Jacksonville Beach. It wasn’t my favorite since the main busy highway bumps right up to the beach. I didn’t find it to be a very enjoyable walking city, but it had it’s charms—like this barbecue board.

Jacksonville Beach favorites:

The biscuit fest would continue on as we kept driving north and stopped in Savannah briefly to visit my mom and stepdad. The weather was surprisingly cold for the south in November. I was hoping for summer and definitely didn’t pack the right clothing items for this trip!

We had a nice time staying at the pet-friendly Thunderbird Inn. This surely won’t be a comprehensive list of all my Savannah favorites, but these are the ones we made it to this time.

Savannah favorites:

I love a good road trip and was so happy to have some company this time!

New yoga class on YouTube!

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Hi friends. After a long (primarily puppy-driven) YouTube yoga hiatus, I’ve finally posted a video. This flow helped me loosen up after a long ride in the car to New York City and a day of working at a desk. I hope you find it useful. I’ll be planning to post more yoga classes over on my YouTube channel, so follow along if you’re a fan of doing online yoga videos. I like it because we can practice together from anywhere in the world. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

Forcing vs. Flowing

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I’m coming to you from the air today! After a surprise cancellation and rebooking (one of many happening these days, it seems), I’m on a flight to visit Los Angeles. I’ve been keeping a one line a day journal since 2020 (a thrilling year to start, by the way) and I can’t believe it’s officially been longer that I’ve lived in New Jersey than I lived in LA.

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Let Yourself Land

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There’s such a difference between the beginning of January and its final days. Here in the third week, I wonder, are you sticking to your resolutions? Have you altered them? Softened them to fit your real life? As we come back from the holiday chaos—increased energies, hectic schedules, indulgent diets—we try to take back the reigns at the beginning of the year with schedules, rules, and controls.

I, for one, enjoy this. It’s easier to have strict guidelines than to make a new decision every day. “I’m choosing not to drink this month.” I’m doing 30 minutes of cardio per day.” Ok, no questions. But then we get to the third week, and it’s time to check in on what’s working for us. There were the two mimosas on a football Sunday. Plus the day work was crazy and I only had twenty minutes to exercise before teaching a class. A few imperfections. They’ll have to be OK.

If you notice yourself slipping up a lot (and I mean daily or a few times a week), don’t start by beating yourself up or questioning your willpower. If you messed up, first offer yourself forgiveness. Then reflect. Where are you coming from—how was your energy and your life a month ago? Have you been realistic in what you could take on? Are your goals right for you or were they perhaps superhuman? Consider sharing them with a trusted friend.

I’m not suggesting you throw out all of your goals and lie down on the couch (although it’s Friday afternoon so I won’t be mad if you do), but allow some space to assess and readjust. Set yourself up with the best habits that you know you can, and then leave a little room for life to flow in between.

Have a wonderful weekend.

<3 Cori

Long beach island bay view

2021

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It’s still January (in case you haven’t already noticed from the freezing temps and the way it keeps snowing!) so I hope I can still do a 2021 recap. While it was another weird year of uncertainty for everyone, but SO much happened this year that I don’t want to forget…

Winter LBI sunsets. Snow! Two spring trips to California. My birthday celebration in Keystone, Colorado. Yoga on the beach, by the bay, and in the studio. Nature time in the Delaware Water Gap (and exploring more of my new state of NJ). Becoming an official New Jersey resident and finally unpacking all my stored boxes into my own apartment. A best friend’s wedding in Amsterdam plus a side trip to Paris. A lovely amount of trips to Harrisburg and other parts of PA to visit my sister. And last but not least, all the holiday festivities and a family trip to NYC after two years away.

My grandma celebrated her birthday last week, and when I called to wish her a happy one, she had some reflections to deliver. She considered the number, and I commented that we’re both getting older. But if someone offered her the chance to wake up tomorrow and be 25 or 35 again, would she do it? “Only if they’d promise I could live every year since then in exactly the same way,” she said.

I hope I feel the same when I reach my 80’s. At this rate, I think I will.