On Spring Break hiatus this week

Interesting article in Nuvo about The Village Experience started by Kelly and Anne Campbell. Their new store has its grand open on April 4th in Broad Ripple and looks like it will have a wide array of goods from international artisans- just the kind of store we love.

Maysa Matarazzo

How cool is it that we emailed a question to The New York Times music critic and we got a prompt, personal response from him? We are very grateful to Ben Ratliff for that and for introducing us to Maysa Matarazzo, a Brazilian singer from the 60s that we had managed to get this far into our lives without hearing about before. We read this article in Time Out New York back in November and then wanted to pick up Maysa's Barquinho CD. Her CDs aren't easy to find in stock online so we emailed Mr. Ratliff and he kindly suggested a Chicago record store, Dusty Groove America. Barquinho was out of stock then but we made an online account on the website asking for an email notification when it was back in stock. This week, we got an email that it was available so we excitedly ordered it. We're going to keep Dusty Groove bookmarked because it looks like they have a lot of fascinating music (we just wish that they had sound clips available). Yesterday, our CD arrived and it is so lovely. We don't have a spring break vacation coming up but the music transported us to this cruise on the cover.

Remember DeBrand for Easter

No Easter is complete without goodies in the basket from DeBrand Chocolates. We particularly love their mini bunnies that come in our favorite dark chocolate but also milk chocolate and hazelnut. If you don't live near their Fort Wayne locations you can order online.

Meditation Workshop at Inner Peace Yoga

Mrs. WYA! needed a kick start to get her into a regular meditation practice. After years of practicing yoga and reading endless accounts about the benefits of meditation, it was time to commit to it. It can be daunting to meditate without some guidance so she was so grateful that the Inner Peace Yoga Studio regularly holds a beginning meditation workshop. It's for 3 hours on Saturday and 3 hours on Sunday. The Saturday workshop was held by Carol Crenshaw who owns the studio with her husband Charles. There were about 11 of us in the big carpeted studio room. There were chairs and plenty of props to assist with good posture if you chose to sit on the floor such as blankets, pillows, and Cosmic Cushions. On the first day, Carol covered things such as breathing techniques, benefits, posture, and how meditation can be integrated with any (or no) religious faiths. On Sunday, Charles was a very engaging instructor and covered more breathing and mantras (which is nothing mystical, just something to give your mind to focus on as you breathe to keep it from jumping around). He also talked about the difference between just relaxing and meditation. By the time Mrs. WYA! left, she had a sequence of how to prepare for meditation and an idea of how to go about it. She had even bought a neti pot there so she is really feeling like she is becoming more of a hippie every day. Carol had said that even if the meditation is just 5 minutes long in the beginning, that will be fine. So, there's really no excuse now for not doing it.

Check the Inner Peace Yoga Center's website for details on the next meditation workshop along with a schedule of their yoga classes. We thought $105 was a fair price for the workshop but we found out that it's even a better bargain because once you've paid for it once, you can keep attending it when they repeat it in case questions come up or you need a refresher.

5038 E. 56th St (in a strip mall near the Kessler Blvd. intersection)

Indianapolis, IN

317.257.9642

Linnea's Lights

The matchbook inside the container's lid is a really charming touch.




We bought ours here at Oliver's Twist.

We completely trust Heartstrings owner Jeannie's good taste so, when she told us that there was a wonderful candle made here in Indiana, we knew we would have to pick it up. We went to Linnea's Lights website and inquired as to where the candles are sold in the Indy area. We very promptly got an email response that listed Emmetts's The Studio in the Meridian Kessler area, and Curiosities, Oliver's Twist, and Gift to Go by Basket Case all in Carmel. We're a little intimidated by uber chic salons and really hip boutiques so we headed to Oliver's Twist to pick up our candle. It's a cute little shop on Rangeline Road that specializes in pretty invitations and paper products. We spotted the assorted sizes of candles, sniffed them all, and chose Yuzu. It's described on the website as being "luscious Japanese grapefruit, exotic fruits and watery greens". To our noses, it smells like a fabulous frozen drink with an umbrella in it that we would indulge in if we were beach side somewhere. It is a perfect scent to keep in mind for the upcoming warm weather months when you are on the patio or in the sun room as dusk falls. We love not only that they are made in Indiana but that they are soy and have lead-free cotton candle wicks. We also thought that the little box of matches inside of the package's lid was an especially charming touch. We handed over our $19.99 (+ tax) happy to discover a lovely candle company and to support an entrepreneurial Hoosier.

Attention movie fans, thanks to Ain't It Cool News we found out that some titles in the Warner Brothers' archive that haven't been available on DVD can be ordered from their website for $19.95. That's a little pricey but we just might have to see Jean Harlow in The Beast of the City.