Month: January 2019

January 28, 2019 at 02:10PM by CWC Two summers ago, at a “house-cooling” in Brooklyn, I discovered the undeniable power of taking a break to read mid-party. The friends of friends who had called the apartment home throughout college were a group of aspiring poets, and boy, oh boy, did they make a point of making sure everyone in attendance knew they were among the next-gen of Walt Whitmans. At one point in the night, I found myself sitting on the couch next to a wordsmith who had self-published his own collection of haikus just a month earlier. He placed a copy in my hands and the introvert inside of me swooned—and not in a “this poet is flirting with me!” way. Nope! I was just thrilled to have an excuse to read rather than continue my ruse as the gal who thrives in loquacious situations. The room hummed around me as I read poem after poem. It was the first time I can remember actually enjoying myself at a party. I’ve since repeated this ritual at many a social engagement (networking events included!). If I’m spending QT with close friends or family, I give them my undivided attention. But asking an introvert to enter a room full of strangers and play nice is a lot like asking a swine to fly. So whenever the sea of red cups and small talk makes the room feel claustrophobic, I go on a quest to find a bookshelf (or pull out the BYO option

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January 28, 2019 at 01:52PM by CWC There are certain things that are best at specific times of the day. Coffee is best in the morning; a scary movie right before bed is not. (Meanwhile, breakfast is suitable at literally any hour.) However, if you’ve recently started a vitamin-taking kick ~for your health~ you might be looking at all of those supplements lined up before you and wonder if there’s an optimal time to take them. Let’s be real: The best time to pop a pill is whenever you’ll remember. “If you’re not consistently going to take your vitamin, you’re getting less of it over the course of the week,” says Christy Brissette, President of 80 Twenty Nutrition—and less is always less. That said, there are some differences between how certain vitamins are processed by your body, so timing can sometimes make a difference. While your body can absorb water-soluble vitamins, like B and C, no matter what you have or haven’t eaten, other supplements are best taken with food, while others don’t mix well with certain vitamins. Here’s what you need to know about when to take vitamins, no matter your unique supplement mix. Fat-soluble vitamins: at mealtime Your body better absorbs fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) when they’re taken with fat-containing food. That’s because eating fat triggers the production of enzymes and bile that help transport fat-soluble nutrients out of your digestive system and into your liver, where they’re processed. “Without that activation, you won’t absorb

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January 28, 2019 at 01:26PM by CWC As far as “fun things to shop for” go, I’d place “winter coats” somewhere near the very, very bottom of the list—slightly below “nude bra” and just a hair above “tampons.” They’re expensive, all kinds of make-you-feel-like-the-Michelin-Man, and a clear indicator that winter is not only coming, but that it is here and we have to deal with it. But this weekend, just as New York City temperatures dipped below 10 degrees, the universe somehow answered my prayers (or, erm, whines and moans) and I found one that completely changed my mind about the entire category of clothing without costing me upwards of $1,000: The Babaton St. Moritz Parka. For $365 (marked down from $398!), this parka has everything you could possibly want when its so cold outside it feels like your eyeballs might freeze inside your head. It’s waterproof, windproof, and packed with goose down to keep you warm when it gets down to -22 degrees. The faux-fur hood makes me feel like my childhood teddy bear is giving me a cozy hug around my ears. It’s slightly cinched at the waist, which makes me feel more runway model than marshmallow. Extending all the way down past my knees, it also kind of makes me feel like I’m wearing the streetwear version of a sleeping bag. To test its warmth factor, I walked 45 blocks in 14-degree weather yesterday, and felt snug as a bug in a rug. On Monday morning, when the elevator doors opened and stepped

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