The Birdsnest

If you are looking for a nice little escape from NYC, somewhere you can just hop in the car and drive to, completely decompress from city living and get a feel for small town life, all while still making it back to the City in a couple hours, Hancock, NY is your place. A teeny, tiny town along the Delaware River, this hamlet boasts only one of everything you need. A bank, a video store, a library, a church and a bakery. The Bakery, as it is so aptly named, bakes the best bagels outside of Brooklyn.

You'll want to stay the night in this little village and you're in luck, because the perfect little place to rest is perched right on top of the bakery. It's called The Birdhouse and is as delightfully cozy and quirky as it sounds.

You enter and head up to the lofty space by way of these steps.

At the top you will be greeted by this welcoming hand, with a blessing for all who grace the entrance.

And then you will be come upon a light-filled hallway with doors to each suite.

My favorite is the Birdsnest. 

I love the compact cook's kitchen. 

The pristine bathroom, especially the tub.

And the sunny master bedroom.

The living room is such a bright, cozy place to sit and relax. 

And all the furnishings are salvaged antiques, a space decorated with an eye for sustainable, eco-friendly design.

When you are finally forced to leave in order to return to the hustle and bustle of the city, you will nevertheless, walk out refreshed and revitalized by your tranquil stay in these cozy quarters. Until, next time...

Organic Bath

There is nothing like taking a hot steamy bath, filled with herbs and floral oils, when it's a snowy 22 degrees outside. Bath time is so luxurious and a daily must for a life well-lived. Get in there, you must, and linger in a spacious tub, soaking up all the delicious bath treats added to the water. Lay back as the divine elixir envelopes you in its warmth and sensual aroma. Steep like a tea bag in all the herbs, dried flowers and salts dissolving about you.

Light a fire, too.

A very special bath treat is, EO Bath Salts, made with tangerine, coconut and vanilla essential oils and Himalayan sea salt to help alkalize the water.

Pour in some organic milk or add Storybook Farm's Soothing Soak potion with oatmeal, powdered milk, hops and lavender. The hops will make you feel so relaxed, as if you, too, are dissolving into the warm soapy water. Look for it at the lovely Stockton Market in NJ.

For lots of bubbles, use a delicious bubble bath like deep steep Tangerine Melon Honey Bubble Bath. The scent is so delightful and the creamy texture, so wonderful!

And last, but not least, pour in some Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Castile Soap for the most amazingly refreshing fragrance of minty goodness.

The New Brooklyn

When is was seven years old, my family moved to Brooklyn from Chesapeake, VA. We were to spend a few years there while my father pastored at a local Baptist church. I cried for almost two months straight every night as I lay in my brooklyn bed trying to fall asleep but instead drenched in a dizzying melancholy for the lost evenings of southern living, the sounds of crickets and still country air replaced by the din of sirens and choking exhaust fumes. Contrary to the popular slogan, I hated New York. Particularly, the Crown Heights Brooklyn neighborhood, we now called home. Luckily, by the end of  our first year in the big apple, I was pretty well settled in and actually came to love the walks with my brother to the corner pizzeria for a fat slice and an Italian ice. After all those years, I can't believe I choose to come and live in Brooklyn and also how much the city has changed.

My siblings and I went to school at the old Brooklyn Armory, which was then the independent African school, Uhuru Sasa. The area surrounding Flatbush is fast becoming gentrified and filling up with trendy shops and restaurants. One of my favorite spots to grace the BK is Habana Outpost. Only open during the warmer months, this pavilion of local artists, musicians and foods is a true gem.

Another Fort Greene charm is The Greene Grape. I love the Olive Bread here and the fresh organic fruits and vegetables.

The Brooklyn Academy of Music is a so rich with performances, exhibits and shows.

Walking along Flatbush Avenue towards the Brooklyn Public Library provides a grand tour of the chic restaurant invasion. Not long ago, this strip was home to many a mom and pop caribbean joint. Not so much now.

Don't misunderstand. I am not being a hater. I love all the choices that abound. Even though the merits of a good chana roti can never be denied. Now we have Thai.

Vegan.

Gastronomous.

Local and Organic.

And Fair Trade.

The gates of Prospect Park have never felt so, well...full of prospect.

With the Botanical Gardens just up the road and all the wonder inside its expanse.

This library, the one I frequented so many days with my family as a little girl, still packs a huge punch of welcoming glory.

Coming back to an historic Brooklyn brownstone after a day out on the streets is always a treat. Add to that a fresh salad with the local greens scored today and you have a perfect day in the new Brooklyn, sans tears.

7 Day Water Fast

Fasting for 7 days is like creating the world inside your body all over again. You totally renew yourself during this period and your mind, body and spirit are completely re-made. I humbly made it through each painstaking day drinking only reverse osmosis filtered water and came out on the other side of a very long week, a totally new being. Well, almost. I am still me, but somehow younger, clearer, more peaceful and happier. Food tasted different and new after my fast. A sliver of watermelon on the break-fast of my 8th day was like a royal meal.

I am now so much more appreciate of food, the act of eating and the quality of my body's digestion. For those first few days after the fast, I could feel each morsel of food as it integrated with my inner body. I truly understood that, "you are what you eat." I was fresh and new and each bite of food was making me up again, forming me. I highly recommend fasting as a spiritual and physical and emotional healer. Without herbs, vitamins or minerals from outside sources, my body's own intelligence mended itself. Without instruction from without, my body knew just what it needed to do for balance and wholeness.

So many of my ailments just got better as each non-eating day progressed. I healed and no one, nothing, helped me. And like God creating the heavens and the earth, I was put together by unseen hands. Before fasting, I was fatigued, allergic and irritable after a whirlwind trip from Florida to New York to West Africa and back. During and after I became very light, joyful and effortless. I floated through the days, although not without a price. The price being the excitement and thrill of eating, the overall stimulation food provides and the incessant boredom of watery days that took its place. Yes, water fasting is a challenge. One thing that kept me going was the wonderful findings of Maseru Emoto on the power of water which has been blessed with positive intentions. Through some of the toughest struggles to resist breaking the fast, I found peace in knowing I was filled with divinely inspired water crystals!

But, oh, the glory of food and drink imbibed after my fast. The pleasure of pure coconut water was unmatched.

Fresh coconuts can easily satisfy as meals for the week after a water fast.

And I dutifully enjoyed the fresh elixir as I reawakened my digestive system from its slumber. Many suggest fasting with the help of a trained specialist or healer. In my case, Divine wisdom was my guide. I simply listened to my body's deepest messages. I slept when it said lie down, drank water when my stomach churned with old undigested toxins, and meditated when it ventured to process all the emotional baggage linked in with substances my body wanted to rid itself of. I spent a great deal of time reading, doing simple yoga poses, appreciating nature and even a few nights camping on the beach

and another few, tiny house camping.

I came to more deeply understand that life is a gift, a simple pure and perfect reward for being who I am, what we are. Pure Spirit. And so I was, in a way, born again.