Mona Lisa Meditation

I was in my yoga class meditating, after we finished the “challenging” routine, when I’ve opened my eyes before everybody else did and in an instant had a  “Eureka” moment!

I looked at the people in the room who were still sitting with their eyes closed and meditating and  I ” figured out”  why Mona Lisa is smiling!

I have never read if there is a specific research done about this but looking at the Mona Lisa’s smile and at the peaceful smile at the faces of people in meditation I could not help but notice the parallel in  both.

Source :Pinterest
Meditating Man

I Googled my “finding” and actually there is a book written about that topic. http://goo.gl/PfLelQ

I even found an article called “New Buddha Statue has a Mona Lisa smile.” and many more blogs. So now I can’t claim my “discovery” but  it still made me happy.

Leonardo is one of my all time heroes , and it made me wonder if he meditated himself and was trying to convey that through his painting? Was it his  message for us to find our inner piece and joy?

We would never know for sure what were his intentions but we know that in buddhist traditions  meditating  does  brings  out  inner happiness and serenity, and even prolongs our lives.

Which is what I wish to all of us today, serenity and peace 🙂

Namaste

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In the Wolvesmouth at the Wolvesden

Wolvesmouth is an underground LA restaurant which LosAngeles.com calls the “Toughest Dinner Reservation” in town.

Photo courtesy of : Wolvesmouth

They don’t advertise or promote themselves in any way; the only advertising is “the word of mouth”.  James Skotchdopole, one of Quentin Tarantino’s producer’s says about Craig Thornton (the chef) that  “ He is obsessed with obscurity, which is why I love him”.

After learning about Wolvesmouth from friends, my first reaction was that I could easily find them on Yelp ”What is the big deal?” I though.

Well on Yelp I could see that it had 5 stars and 43 reviews but there was no contact information. The only way to register it was to get on their waiting list on their website.

It took several weeks to get an invitation. After getting the invitation I had to  fill out a little application and  write why I was interested in dining at the Wolvesmouth (up to 5000 words). Luckily they have “excepted the application ” but the “secret location” was only revealed few hours before the actual event.

It almost felt like joining a secret society and I absolutely loved it!

The most important thing was that my great expectations were not wasted. It was worth every bit of the built up intrigue and enticement which was heightened by a well-writen article in The New Yorker about the Chef Craig and his innovative venture.

The “secret location” was in the  developing artsy neighborhood in downtown LA, which felt more like New York with it’s brick buildings and converted lofts. The inside decor was stylish and  shocking  at the same time.

It was a converted loft and the beauty of the experience was that you could see chef and his crew at work right there, with the prep work done in front of your eyes.

Big dining table had only 20 sits,  as  Chef explained the whole idea is to bring people from different walks of life together, under one roof where they will be  united with one purpose: to enjoy their food and share the joy of dining together.

They specifically pick an eclectic group to add to the dining experience where you can meet  anyone,  from high powered attorneys, fashion designers to producers and newly “retired” Facebook executives.

Chef Craig would come and introduce each dish in the most casual but charming manner. Each creation was utterly unique and original with the eclectic combinations of Russian “pelmenies” and purple algae mousse.

10 course dinner ended with fantastic dessert and no bills! The entire dining is only on “donation” bases, for which red  Chinese envelops were provided.

The whole thing was so inspiring that I would  definitely recommend to  experience it for yourselves whenever you’re in LA.

xoxo

E.

Save money on BLACK FRIDAY

Today is Black Friday, which means non-stop shopping in the stores: Christmas gifts, clothes, technology…etc. I thought about it and I asked myself- “Do we have to always buy new things to update the way we look?”

Then I thought about this video for Komarov.com that I did a while back. This shows   different techniques of tying a scarf that lets you update your look without an entirely new wardrobe.

I am not against buying new clothes since I feel new clothes/outfits do inspire and refresh us at some level (and actually I will write about the whole philosophy behind it pretty soon). But today my point was -that, you DON’T HAVE TO always buy new clothes in order to refresh your look, you can just take a few scarf’s and Voila –have a Fresh and Trendy new look while saving money!

Happy Thanksgiving !

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope you had a great year and have many things to be grateful for. My yoga instructor says that feeling of gratitude acts like a “reboot” system in our bodies. When we sit down  quietly and think about all those things that we are grateful for, out bodies tend to relax, stress tends to subside and we feel overall sense of well-being that is rejuvenating for our body and mind.

So wishing you to “reboot” your systems and have a great time!

And I am grateful for the wonderful WordPress community that we have here!

Happy Thanksgiving !

xoxo

Wearing asymmetrical Komarov top

Happy Bastille Day !

Hope you were able to do something French today as an homage to Bastille day which 225 years ago, dramatically altered  the course of the human history.

There are  so many “French things” to experience  that it is challenging  to choose from: French fashion, French fries. French songs , French kisses…

In this picture I am trying to capture French: Bleu, Blanc et  Rouge  (colors of the French flag: liberté (freedom: blue), égalité (equality: white), fraternité (brotherhood: red),…. although I should add some more RED, just lipstick is not enough….

What is your favorite “French ” thing?

 

Does Train ride induces creativity?

Everyone has their favorite place to write: it might be at that little table in Starbucks, in the bathtub, in the car; at the office…favorite places are as many as there are people.

In Tiger print Komarov top

I have read about Catherine de Great that she had a tiny room where she liked to write her letters and about Pushkin that he liked to write in his bed…it made me think where do you write your blogs? Do you have a special place where you feel you can think better than anywhere else?

Mine happens to be at my desk, but after hearing resent announcement by Amtrak that they will give long-distance travel accommodations to 24 writers as a part of their residency program, made me fantasize about writing on a train…I think I want to test that idea by taking a train from LA to Santa Barbara and just try to write my blog posts from there and see what happens.

I am really curious if any of you have  tried it and what results you’ve got?

Health Thursday: Relaxing baths

One of the best ways to pumper yourself is to take a bath, put on a nice music  and light up some candles. Warm water helps muscles to relax . Relaxed muscles send signal to the brain, that “everything is fine you can relax” and brain follows the body and slowly calms down.

The whole experience can only improve by adding some aromatic salts into the water.

Here is one of my favorite  DIY recipes ( I absolutely love the smell of rose in this!)

• Dried rose petals
• Rose water or rose essential oil
• 1 cup Epsom salt
• 2/3 cup powdered milk

Mix ingredients together and add a scoop to the bath water .

It is great for skin, mind and spirit, try and let me know 🙂

Wearing Red flower print resort dress by Komarovinc.com

Hello Palm Springs!

Sooo excited to be in Palm Springs! 90 degrees! (compare to 67F in LA )

Looking forward to new discoveries at Palm Springs Fine Art Fair! Check back tomorrow for the show pictures, see you soon!

Follow on Instagram for more updates @  EG2000

Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/blogEvelinaGalli

in Komarovinc.com blue color blocked top

The most Romantic month of the Year

This is the most Romantic month, where people all over the world focus on Love with more intensity than any other time of the year. Maybe it is Spring Madness that inspires people to love, dream, make courageous acts or simply be romantic in this month.

Valentine is almost here, and I want to share with you today with 3 of my favorite quotes about Love.

  “Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow”  John Lennon

In white Komarov dress

“You never loose by loving, you always loose by holding back.” Barbara de Angelis

and a really cute one:

“Where love is concerned, too much is not even enough.”Pierre Beaumarchais

What is your special thought about love?

My Favorite Oscar nominees

Sometimes it is nice to take a break from the hustle and bustle of my everyday life to hit up the theater and see a good movie! In my spare time I treated myself to viewings of some of the most popular movies of the year. My three favorite Oscar nominated movies of 2013 were…

The Great Gatsby: There is not much to dislike about this movie. It was visually stunning and really made me want to throw on my pearls, doll myself up in some fringe and grab a time machine to head back to the 1920’s to drink some champagne and party at Gatsby’s house!

Blue Jasmine: This controversial yet inspirational story had me almost falling in love with the crazy character because of their truly, brilliant acting.

Wolf of Wall Street: Good acting, crazy good director, awesome storyline! Wolf of Wall Street was definitely impressive and who doesn’t love Leonardo DiCaprio?

What was your favorite movie of 2013?