a good start to the weekend...

...is very important! Equally important is the weekend itself, as, let's face it, it is what we are dreaming of the rest of the week while working... and, yes, I will be the one saying it, it is what keeps us going... the weekend that is... ok, I may have been slightly lost in my train of thoughts here... Anyway, the start to the weekend, the way Friday ends, is important because it brings us IN to the weekend mood and if it is good, than most likely the rest of the mini break will be good too!

I had such a good start to the weekend yesterday! The sun was shinning, rare and brilliant, the mood was already good for the working week was over (and not such a bad one either, to tell the truth...), my iPod was choosing great music as I drove away from the office and, especially also because I had been hungry for almost a week due to a wisdom tooth infection, I was looking forward to dinner! Dinner which would be at my house with a few great friends and my specialty, "pork's tenderloin with lemon sauce", accompanied by my friend's famously good mashed potatoes!  

Mmmm... and what a great diner it was! Not wanting to brag about my pork, which was perhaps the best I ever made (purely by luck... or because I forgot about it almost dangerously while cooking...) or my friend's heavenly mash, I will brag about the great company and the conversations and the perfect atmosphere created just to get us, in the most perfect way, into the weekend! And this is, without a doubt, better than shoes!

ps1. Yes, it is Saturday morning now and raining... @#$%^&**((**&

ps2. No, I will not be revealing the recipe for "pork's tenderloin with lemon sauce" anytime soon...

Mini break with friends!

Having started writing this post, I feel that it is somewhat inappropriate to talk about "better than shoes" stuff at a time when the whole world's interest is focused on last Friday's Japanese tragedy... I mean no disrespect and I do feel overwhelmed by it... But I think that, even at times like these, talking about positive things can help us cope with the sadness... So here it is, my latest "better than shoes" experience...

I am a fortunate person, I have said it before, who not only enjoys the friendship of wonderful people but who also can enjoy the luxury of escaping for a long weekend with them! And this is what happened some ten days ago, we got on a plane and headed to a mini break in London! And what a weekend that was! Even the weather, notoriously wet and gloomy in the British capitol, was on our side! Blue skies, bright sun (though admittedly a bit chilli...) and just a tiny bit of rain only on Saturday night. In other words, splendid!

Having done some preparations beforehand, my friends being great at that, we ended up having lovely meals, a great lunch at Jamie's Italian in the City on Friday and a memorable dinner on Saturday at Gordon Ramsay's Maze My mouth gets watery and my eyes misty just in the memories of the tastes, the wine, the beautiful ambience and the pleasant people! Which by the way is my overall impression every time I travel to London, I find the friendliness of the service everywhere most inviting! On top of that, a matinée of "Billy Elliot" on Saturday completed the experience!

Surely I will not deny there was some shopping... surprisingly not for shoes! I guess the enormous offer just kinda blocked me and could not choose... or simply did not feel the need for it as I was feeling, for the whole of the weekend, such immense joy being with my friends and having such a great time that I forgot my usual addiction to foot candy... don't know... what I do know is that this weekend certainly qualifies as "better than shoes" and that I have my best friends to thank for it! :)

Pilates...

... is better than shoes! And I will dedicate this post to it :)

Now, for those of you not familiar with this wonderful fitness regime, here you are. I have been practicing on and of with videos at home for about five years now but it is only since last autumn that I started with the classic Pilates training at a studio. I got myself a personal trainer and I gathered up all my motivation for going there at least once a week after work and fight my natural tendencies which would be go home and crash on the sofa :)

Mind you, it is not easy at all! If you do not believe me, google some videos of it and you will know what I mean... But, boy, does it feel good! It is the type of exercise that is as if it was made for me: no huffing and puffing, no sweating, no jumping up and down like a lunatic (so that all the wobbly parts -of other people of course, what did you think- can be also jumping up and down in plain view...), no loud music, no gym freaks checking out their muscles at the mirrors, no show off...  And it works wonders! Not only my aching body bits (ok... I do have some of those...) have just stopped aching, honest truth, but I feel my body changing session by session! Like I'm getting taller and lighter and leaner!

Ok, the fact is that it does hurt while doing the exercises... it is very hard workout, focusing on those core abdominal muscles, and that is the reason why it works as well as it does! But, though one could not say that it is "fun" to do (it is not the thigh-master and this is not an infomercial...), it is my kind of addictive, seductive I dare say, type of work out! And one which definitely brings results! Thus, it is better than shoes! Not to mention that the way it transforms the body, anyone looks better on high heels sandals :) Clearly, a win-win situation ;)