Fink

Tammy came over for dinner two nights ago and I told her to DJ while I made us some kale and pasta with chicken sausage (one of my favorite meals of all time). I asked for something soothing and chill. She played me Fink, which I loved. His whole album, Distance and Time was perfecto for relaxing with a friend and un verre de vin rouge.

Slow Fall

I've been feeling pretty sappy the past few days. Autumn almost always makes me really nostalgic and reflective, which can be positive in a lot of ways, but it's also bittersweet. A year out of college I still mark the new year by the school calendar, so I suppose that has something to do with it. When I think back on the past year, I realize absolutely EVERYTHING in my life has changed. The one steady thing, my rock, has been dancing, and I've been lucky enough to able to work with two really amazing companies this year, Douglas Dunn and Dancers, as well as the Matthew Westerby Company. Next week I'm going on tour with the Matthew Westerby Company and we've all been spending a lot of time in the studio preparing. When I went in yesterday, I was feeling kind of blue, but after a few minutes talking with Matthew and the dancers and I felt instantly lighter. No matter how tired I am, no matter what I'm going through-- going into the studio and rehearsing with these companies never fails to bring me so much joy and fulfillment. In gratitude to my job and all of the wonderful people I get to work with, I am posting this video of Matthew's gorgeous and heartbreaking duet "Slow Fall".

BK Safari

Last fall, my instinct to create a nest was so strong that I actually brought beautiful branches in from outside, ordered these sheets and hung a pretty mid century painting of an owl on the wall. This fall, I started to feel a bit cluttered and decided it was time for a change. I wanted cleaner lines and black and white accents to contrast with my saffron/ burnt orange wall. I ditched the branches and within a few hours, had transformed my room into a mini modern safari lodge. I just found these fantastic animal busts at anthropologie, made of repurposed cement and old pages from French books- I can't wait to get one to complete my wild little room!

DEREZZED!

Seeing Daft Punk live at Keyspan park in 2007 was hands down the best concert experience I've ever had and one of the coolest things I've ever witnessed in my life. NO I'M SERIOUS. Ask anyone who has seen them live, the french robot duo understand how to move the masses, both literally and figuratively. Obviously I am stoked and seriously geeking out about the soundtrack that DP has recorded for TRON Legacy, coming soon to theaters (argh!!!I can hardly contain myself.) Here's the latest trailer with their newest track, Derezzed. YEZZZZZ.

Snaps from Kerala

My dad and I traveled from Delhi to Kerala for a little change of scenery. I'd never been, and it was so different from North india I hardly believed I was in the same country. The pace is slower, as southern regions of many countries are. It's cleaner, greener, and the people are friendly and warm. See more on my flickr.

Thanksgiving

When my brother was in Africa in June traveling for several weeks, he wrote my family some very beautiful emails describing his everyday discoveries and observations. When I say "my family" I am talking about: my mom, dad, my brother Nick, my cousins Sandeep, Jyotin (and now Devika and Gokul since they've moved to the East coast) and Glam and Grandpa. When Nick started writing to us, we sort of collectively started replying to all. We were all in different places in the world and it felt really nice to hear updates from everyone- even the most mundane things. Jyotin wrote to us about the grind of working at a hedge fund in Connecticut, my mom wrote about decorating her house in Montclair, dad sent us pictures from hiking in Germany on a beautiful day after work.

I think we all really enjoyed these updates, and the practice stuck- we have more or less continued the family emails, whether it's a long letter from one of us describing our travels, or a snapshot with no text, or a link to an interesting article. Today my dad sent us all this video with the text "My gift to you this morning". I found the sentiment and the video very thoughtful, and my Grandpa quickly responded with the following statement, "This reminds me that almost all we can do as individuals is live our lives with dignity and ethically as best we understand ethics. Bad things are happening all around us and it often seems like we have no control (and maybe we don't). Anyway, I love you all,and look forward to seeing you all at thanksgiving".

I felt very grateful for these snippets of reflection from my family, and today, I am actively taking a minute, or two, to really feel thanks for them.

It looks so simple!