raves

Exercising frequently and playing sports takes a toll on your body. There's always going to be soreness and injury. You really can't avoid it if you're passionate about fitness and like to push yourself hard. It happens to newbies, too. Especially when your body hasn't quite acclimated to routine training. Over the years, I've learned a lot of tricks and natural healing methods to help my muscles recover faster and get me back into the game. These are just a few... Cold & Hot Therapy - Make sure to ice areas of inflammation and swelling followed by soaking in a hot bath to relieve pain/soreness. Epsom Salt added to a hot bath is extremely soothing for your muscles. Or, any kind of high magnesium based salt. Essential oils (mixed correctly) can relax and calm tense areas. Homeopathic biomedicines like arnica, calendula and echinacea can be just as effective as over the counter pain relief pills and narcotic pain killers. And they're better for...

I spend 40-60 minutes blow drying, 20 minutes styling with a curling iron or straightner, and an additional 10-15 minutes defrizz-ing, adding shine and then taming fly-aways. My hair routine is a whole process--one that I've been doing for years since the second grade. When you grow up as a wavy-haired Latina girl, you learn to use a round brush right about the same time you learn to use a fork and spoon. It becomes a tool you can't live without...safely stored in your hot pink Caboodle along with your crimper. (If you're a child of the 90's, you'll get that reference.) Not much has changed for me since those days, I'm still round brushing my hair and subjecting it to all kinds of heat, coloring and sometimes even relaxing chemical treatments. It's awful what I put it through and the damage is often obvious to me in pictures. I realize not all of you reading this can relate but when you're born with thick, coarse or curly hair, "styling" becomes a huge part of your life. An...

My skin is everything to me.  I’ve always been obsessed with having clear skin. My good friends joke that I have the most skincare products they’ve ever seen. It’s all because I have fun testing out different products until I find what works. But I also believe that having great skin requires daily conditioning. Nope, not the kind of conditioner you put in your hair. I’m talking about the kind of conditioning you do at the gym…y’know, where you actually put some effort into it! Day to night maintenance—it’s a regimen I swear by. Just like I never miss my daily workout, I never skimp on my skincare routine. I never go to bed with makeup on and I always prep my face with nourishing serums, oils and moisturizers depending on the season. A lot goes into my skin-game but to keep it simple, I've partnered with Pulsaderm to share a couple of quick and easy steps for guaranteed younger looking, clear skin. I practice these steps every day without fault and...

Make Woodstock your next weekend getaway this summer! Why? Because it's AMAZING there, on top of being the legendary home of the Woodstock festival. This is where some of the best musicians of all time rocked out and made a name for themselves. It's also just a really nice place to explore and disconnect from your life. WATCH the video below that I made of my favorite things to do and see in Woodstock. I went to Woodstock because my publicist was having a 30th birthday party Upstate. And before all our friends gathered together for it, I went exploring! I ate, I shopped and caught some rays on a giant inflatable swan at my hotel. I made a video about that too, RIGHT HERE. As you can see from my video diary, there's so much to do in Woodstuck but my favorite part was walking around the town and hopping into vintage stores. The flea market on Maple Lane right in the center of town was incredible! From flourless peanut butter cookies to 1904 St. Louis...

  I recently traveled Upstate for my publicist's birthday celebration and had to find a hotel. While researching online, I came across the Hotel Dylan. Here's a little video diary of this very special boutique hotel that I highly recommend. I was so inspired from the minute I got there and really enjoyed my stay...so I wanted to share the experience with you. I think as long as you're headed to Woodstock, you might as well get into the vibe of the legendary festival and stay somewhere that somewhat recreates it. While the Hotel Dylan is completely renovated and nothing is "crunchy" about it, you'll feel hippy-esque due to the decor, design and customer service offered at the hotel. Everyone there is so kind. Karen and Terry are your go-to contacts and if you email through the hotel's website, one of them will surely get back to you. My room was immaculate! The colors and interior design of all the furniture really puts you into a happy-go-lucky...

Back in the day when you joined a gym, they'd throw in a few personal training sessions with your new membership. It was supposed to wet your appetite for personal training and help you ease into your new gym-life. Every trainer I got was just going through the motions, fully knowing I'd disappear on him or her once my free sessions were up. It was quite the self-fulfilling prophecy. I disappeared. But who wants to invest in personal training when your trainer doesn't give a damn? And can you blame them for not caring when they know new members are taking them for joyride? The world of fitness has changed a lot since those days, and so have gym-goers. People are investing more of their paycheck in health & wellness, and seem to be more committed to their workouts than ever. A few years ago The New York Times reported that some women were studio-hopping, taking more than 1 class a day to get their fix. Wow! Now that's a passion for fitness! It's the kind of enthusiasm...