Tonight Neil took me on a wonderful date night to France, well the closest you can get to France in Vermont. We started the night out with a drink at 156 Bistro and then Neil surprised me with dinner at Leunig’s Bistro. We have been talking about going to Leunig’s for months okay years but we just have never gone. It’s a little pricey but we had an amazing meal complete with dessert.
To Start- Seeded Baguette
Cocktail for me: Moulin Rouge and a Beer for Him
Artichoke stuffed with Temeph
Espresso
Vegan Carrot Cake: A-MAZ-ING
Overall we had an amazing and delicious meal. The entree was light, fresh and so tasty. The dessert was amazing especially with the espresso. It was the best espresso I have ever had too. Overall amazing meal, amazing ambiance (it was like you were in France) and I had the best date ever- my husband.
Bah! I have been so crazy busy lately between a weekend of backpacking, then trying to get all my work in line before heading off to Wanderlust for the weekend; now I’m back and trying to get myself back on track.
I'm in the middle near the poles- if you look really hard you can find me- Photo By: Arthur Shim
Our weekend was absolutely amazing even though it rained 98% of the time. I started Thursday off with a Kundalini yoga class with Kia Miller; it was really amazing! It was the first Kundalini class I have ever taken and it was hard but so much fun. After my Kundalini class I was starving and took a rainy walk down to the vegan cafe that was onsite for a delicious lunch of Indian curry, rice and salad and a piece of cashew cheese cake that I split with Neil. Unfortunately do to my extreme hunger I downed the food so fast I didn’t get a photo and heads up no photo of any other food #fail. In the afternoon I took a workshop with Desiree Rumbaugh on knees, lower back and hips. Desiree has so much energy and she is absolutely hilarious! I loved her class so much and learned a lot about alignment and ways to relieve pains in the lower back, knees and hips. Thursday night Neil and I had veggie burgers and a beer at one of the restaurants on site and ended up in bed early because we were so exhausted from traveling down, camping out Wednesday night and yogaing all day.
Desiree Rumbaugh Class
On Friday I started the morning off with an early yoga class with Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman- I died a little bit when I saw Rodney Yee. This was the one class I was looking forward to most after years of doing Rodney Yee yoga videos at home I was finally sitting in his presence. The class was amazing! Colleen and Rodney took turns leading the class. To my delight (I died a little more) Rodney Yee adjusted me in a pose- MADE MY DAY haha; I’m totally geeking out as I write this so you can just imagine what I was feeling during this class. After my yoga class I went to a SpeakEasy with Majora Carter who is known for her greening efforts in the South Bronx. I took a break after this and headed back to the hotel to relax for a bit and enjoyed hummus wraps with Neil for lunch. After lunch I had my second yoga class of the day and second class with Desiree Rumbaugh this time a workshop for neck and shoulders. Again I loved this class! Desiree easily became my favorite teacher of the weekend. I learned so much in the class but was sad when it was over so fast. Friday night we met up with our friend Catherine and went to dinner at a restaurant onsite and then spent the remainder of the night working on blog posts and articles; the work never ends.
Stealth photo of Rodney Yee
Saturday was the busiest day of all and the best because I got to take two classes with my husband! It was so nice because our first class of the morning was with Desiree Rumbaugh and it was a playful flow class. In the class we did a lot of partner work and it was so nice to be able to practice with Neil. I even did a handstand with support of Neil. After our class we went to the worst SpeakEasy ever with the author of The Athlete’s Plate; honestly the lecture could have been over in 5 minutes because the guy just kept repeating himself over and over and over. For lunch we had mini Lara bars, tastings of Honest Tea and humus wraps that we made in our room. In the afternoon Neil and I took one of John Friend’s classes which was such a great experience; it started off a little slow but we learned a lot and had a great time. After the class I went to a SpeakEasy featuring the founders of Wanderlust and Neil was lucky and took one of Sean Corne’s classes- he loved it- colour me jealous.
Wanderlust Founders
We ended up leaving early on Sunday due to a few things that came up and I missed out on what I imagined was an amazing class with Brian Kest and one with Schuyler Grant. Oh well there is always next year.
Summary/Wanderlust in Numbers:
Yoga Classes Taken: 6
Interviews Performed: 2
Mini Lara Bars Eaten: 8
Hummus Wraps Eaten: 3
Beers Drank: 5
Favorite Teacher: Desiree Rumbaugh
Best Day to go to Wanderlust: Thursday; classes are 2 hours and less crowded
Runs Done: 1; I only got a run in on Wednesday night because well I was crazy busy, it rained all weekend and I wasn’t paying to use the gym
Hours Spent Blogging: 8
What I would Do Next Year: I would schedule classes closer together and take 3 classes per day, pack more food and get a condo to cook in because vegan options are limited and CRAZY EXPENSIVE, oh and find more time to sleep.
Wanderlust Photos:
Desiree Rumbaugh Class
Stealth photo of Rodney Yee
Wanderlust Founders
Getting Our Yoga on At Wanderlust Vermont
I’m in the middle near the poles- if you look really hard you can find me- Photo By: Arthur Shim
Interview with Marketing Manager Heather Williams of Manduka
During my visit to Wanderlust Vermont I had the opportunity to speak with Heather Williams of Manduka about what Manduka is doing to green their products as well as their role at Wanderlust and Heathers take on the events. Enjoy!
Q:How did you guys get involved with Wanderlust?
So just because we are such a big part of the yoga community so whenever Wanderlustcame around it just seemed like the perfect fit. Manduka is just into greening thecompany and is so eco-conscious and eco-friendly and Wanderlust has that entireside to it themselves and so it made sense that they were getting a community of yogistogether that cared about those sort of things to celebrate yoga it made sense thatManduka would be involved.
Q:What types of things is Manduka doing to green the company?
So a lot of it is just the products themselves and the materials that go into the productsand some of it is actually the manufacturing process as well. We have one line of matsthat is our eco line of mats that has zero foot print within the land fills and is made out ofnatural tree rubber, so it’s meant to biodegrade. So our other lines of mats are based onthat same idea, they are all made out of recycled material.
Q:What has been your experience here at Wanderlust?
It’s just this fascinating, vibrant community, the energy is fantastic and I feel that evenwith the rain it’s very natural but kind of tends to have people shift in a couple differentways. And so things have gone a couple of ways here at Wanderlust with where thingsare placed, where our sponsorship is and the experience has been great as far as thepeople go. Everybody has been just so glowing about it even though things are kind ofchaos and things are getting shifted around. Everybody has been just really flexible andit’s really beautiful to see that.
Q:So, What kinds of things are you (Manduka) doing here (Wanderlust)?
[Manduka is] sponsoring registration is one of the ways which means we have some signage up forpeople so that they can take photos, free henna and free feather hairs. Once the raintops there is a rig outside that is an aerial rig and there is also a retail space.
Hope you all are doing well! I know I have been MIA lately but I am busy getting my yoga on at Wanderlust Vermont in addition to attending lectures, performing interviews and attempting to find time to sleep here. I just wanted to do a big shout out to Hyde Yoga who sent me one of their really amazing Off The Mat halter tops to test out. I am absolutely in love with this top and what better time to write about it than today- the day off the Yoga Aid Challenge for Off The Mat, Into The World.
“Off the Mat, Into the World uses the power of yoga to inspire conscious activism and ignite grassroots social change. Founded by Seane Corn, this organization encourages yogi’s and yoginis alike to take their practice ‘off the mat’ and into the global community. Join the movement by sporting our latest halter designed in collaboration with OTM, knowing that 10% of the proceeds of your purchase benefit this incredible organization Slits on the sideseams allow for movement while still covering your booty . Fits just like the Taryn, but with five inches of added length. 92% organic cotton, 8% spandex” (source for photo and quote: Hyde Yoga Website)
I wore this tank all day today and it was seriously one of the most comfortable tops I have ever worn for yoga. It is made out of organic cotton and I love the length of it. If there is one thing I hate about workout tops its that they aren’t long enough especially when I am trying to do downward dog or handstands like I tried out today (first time in a yoga class!). In addition to wearing this wonderful top I also did an interview for Ecorazzi with Sean Corne and Suzanne Sterling of Off The Mat, Into The World. Both of them were super sweet and you can read/view more about the interview soon on Ecorazzi.
As most of you have read over the past week I have created a team (BTV Vegan YogisTeam Ingalls-Fairweatherwithnew addition Marshall) to support the charity auction for Off The Mat. “Off the Mat Into the World uses the power of yoga to inspire conscious, sustainable activism and ignite grassroots social change. They do this by facilitating personal empowerment through leadership trainings, fostering community collaboration, and initiating local and global service projects.” To learn more check out my posts here and here.
So this is how the auction is going to work:
Between now (June 20th) and June 22nd at 8pm EST check out the list of items below; if you see something you like send me a bid to lindsay@cookveganlover dot com. Include the item name in the subject line and your bid amount in the message. I’ll be updating the bids throughout the day.
The winning bidder will be notified of their winnings by 8pm EST on Thursday (June 23rd) and will have until 6am EST on Friday (June 24th) to donate their winning bid amount to http://www.yogaaid.com/lindsayingalls In the case that the winner doesn’t follow through with their donation, the item will go to the next highest bidder.
The companies who have kindly donated these products for the auction (THANK YOU!) are also donating the shipping costs.
Option 2. Yoga Aid Raffle.
If none of the auction items tickle your fancy you may be interested in the box of goodies pictured below.
Value $100
To enter the raffle for the box of goodies (all goods purchased by me and I will also be paying the shipping costs) just Make a donation to the http://www.yogaaid.com/lindsayingalls or http://yogaaid.com/neilfairweather or http://yogaaid.com/catherinemarshall and forward your receipt/email me to lindsay@cookveganlover dot com $5 will get you one entry, and $10 will get you three entries! Any donations above $10 in $10 increments will get you one additional entry; so a $20 donation would be 4 entries, $30 would be 5 and so on
All raffle entries must be submitted by 12pm EST on Wednesday June 22nd at 8pm; the winner will be notified by 8pm EST on Thursday June 23rd . P.S. I will ship to the US and Canada
Aurorae has kindly donated one of their yoga mats:
$45 Value
Product Features
Aurorae Ultra Thick
Extra Long Yoga Mat 72” x 24” x ¼”
Ultra thick 1/4″ yoga mat for impact absorption
72” extra long yoga mat makes it comfortable for all sizes
#1 reviewed yoga mat and 5‐Star customer feed back on Amazon
Durable and long lasting material/SGS approved and free from Phthalates
Individual illuminating colors that define your inner self
Aurorae Yoga focal point icon to help with concentration during your yoga practice
Open to US ONLY.
10 Yoga Class Card: Current Bid $70
10 Class Card - $130 Value
Evolution Yoga, a local Burlington Studio, has generously donated a 10 class card.
Evolution Yoga has three beautiful studios for practice. Pre-Registration classes are held in Studio Ahimsa (Sanskrit for “non-harming”), which is our front studio. This sunny studio offers an intimate setting for these specialty classes. Studio Satya (Sanskrit for “truth”) is our newest studio, with cork floors and a warm, nurturing feel. Our largest studio, Studio Tapas (Sanskrit for “zeal, drive”) can hold up to 40 mats.
Evolution Yoga features a number of yoga classes including Anusara, Kirpalu, Vinyasa, and Flying Yoga among many others; visit there website for more information.Open to US ONLY- FYI this studio is in Burlington Vermont.
Retail Value $150
Handmade Beaded Bracelets: Current Bid $15
Species by the Thousands, an eco-minded clothing and jewelry design company, has donated a collection of bracelets.These eco-friendly bracelets are made with reclaimed and vintage beads. Open to US ONLY.
$12 Value
Four Bottles of Mamma Chia: Current Bid $5
“Mamma Chia delivers vitality in a fun‐to‐drink, unique experience.“Customers tell us all the time how super fun and delicious MammaChia is and how amazing they feel after drinking it. The natural gel around the chia seeds creates the fun and refreshing experience, making it like nothing else ont he market. Rarely is something this delicious also so good for you,” says company founderJanie Hoffman. She also reports that customers rave about enjoying Mamma Chia as a great pre‐workout energizer, an afternoon energy booster, a light and satisfying substitute for dessert, and even a great drink with lunch.” Open to US ONLY.
$24 Value
Sampler Case of Ayala’s Herbal Water: Current Bid: $5
Miles Hiked: 9.2 Summits Reached: 1 Fire Tower Stairs Climbed: 20 ….okay 10 each Moose Dropping Piles Seen: 500; okay probably less but they were everywhere but no moose to be seen Coffees Drank: 3 (we split them) Rounds of Cards Played: 5 and Neil won in the end (but only by a little) Hours Spent Reading: 3 glorious hours Minutes Spent Attempting to Do Yoga On A Slanted Rock: 5
Saturday morning Neil and I headed out to Eden’s Crossing at the Long Trail where we had ended our last long hike; you can read about it here. We signed in and started the 3 mile hike the summit of Belvidere Mountain. This hike was a different one for us because I was carrying an additional 17 pounds on my back and Neil around 25 pounds on his back because this trip we were staying the night. Unfortunately the night before it had rained so everything was wet and there were some real mucky spots. We also hit an area that was all rocks so we put our game faces on and got up them anyway we could; sometimes that meant hands and knees.
Neil getting his hike on
We finally made it to the summit of Belvidere Mountain and to the Fire Tower after about 3 hours of hiking up a challenging rock terrain.
Views From the Summit
The Fire Tower
After spending a little time at the summit relaxing without our packs on and refueling with some crackers and water we finally packed up and headed on our way. We still had 3.2 miles to hike before we finally reached our destination. Over the next 3.2 miles we encountered load after load of moose droppings, tons of slippery rocks, muddy sink holes and then thunder. When we started out on our adventure we knew that a thunderstorm was as possibility but we figured we could make it to the cabin before it started. Well the thunder started rolling in and so we started to book it ….not a good idea when you haven’t had lunch and probably needed more water. I was feeling pretty nauseous by the end and it felt like it was taking forever to get there. Finally we made it to the beaver pond which Neil had read was right near the camp and 10 minutes later we were there, our glorious accommodations for the night.
Our Cabin
We took our packs off and settled in and took of our wet shoes, socks and changed our clothes.
After we settled in and decided to make some Backpackers Pantry Pad Thai for lunch and to my surprise the peanut butter in the pad thai was Justin’s!
Pad Thai ....soup? (not photogenic)
We thought the pad thai had good flavor but could have used more time (our fault) “cooking” and less water so it wasn’t so much like a soup.
We also enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and relaxed outside looking out at our view.
View
Via!
The remainder of the night we spent doing yoga (well attempting to on rocks), reading, playing cards and just soaking up the sun.
For dinner we had the Backpackers Pantry Katmandu Curry. It was actually really delicious! We both loved the flavor and the addition of the lentils. We will be buying this one again.
It’s been a long weekend of backpacking and now it’s time to relax. We did 6.2 miles Saturday and finished off 3 more miles this morning. I will be doing a follow up trip blog and Neil and I are going to do a He Says, She Says blog post on gear so standby and goodnight.
