Weekend Melody

I'm currently obsessed with this awesome music video featuring the stylings of Japanese band World Order. It's got me in a perfect mood for a fun weekend!

Headed to the NC

I'm escaping the cold for the weekend, flying down to North Carolina for a baby shower (for my soon to be neice!). Hello 55 and sunny.

In the mean time, check out this adorable and creative YouTube pick. Laura Veirs held a music video contest for her song "Don't Lose Yourself", and this was one of the entries. It's so well done, you won't believe it wasn't professionally made. Judging by the comments, they didn't win the contest, but I'm still enjoying the video (and song) on repeat...

Jamie Oliver's TED Video

Everyone's favorite Swiss blogger, swissmiss, posted this video the other day and it's so good it warrants re-posting. Jamie Oliver not only knows his way around a kitchen, he's also been doing some incredible work promoting health and nutrition both here in the states and all over the world. The video below is of Jamie's recent TED presentation where he explains his wish "to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again, and empower people everywhere to fight obesity". You can find more videos about "ideas worth spreading" (TED's motto) and what this unique nonprofit does here. You can also check out Jamie's website here.

Friday Wrap-up

Happy Friday! This week sure has been a quick one. Here's something cool I discovered this week, makeup artist and cosmetics concoctor Bobbi Brown is using her real-life friends for her new ad campaign. Don't they look gorgeous? Also, ABC News picked up on some important info that many a veg-head already knows: happy cows do not live on dairy farms. Check out the report here: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=9671990 *Note, it's not pretty.

Healthy Nose, Healthy Head

Photo found here.

Thanks to the cold weather outside, the warm, dry air inside, and the frequent nose-blowing associated with both, our nostrils really take a beating this time of year. Hopefully you have been fortunate enough to avoid a seasonal cold or allergy-bout, but the many different "bugs" working their way through our offices and schools can leave your sinuses in need of some major TLC. Enter, the Neti Pot.

What's a Neti Pot?

A traditional Neti Pot looks like a small ceramic tea pot with an extra long spout, and is used to pour a lukewarm water and saline solution up one nostril and out the other. The concept may sound bizarre and new-agey, but the Neti Pot has been around since ancient times and has been long considered a practice of yogic tradition. So how does one use a Neti Pot? And more importantly, why?

Let's start with why you might use a Neti Pot. Using a gentle saline and water solution to clean your nasal passages clears out all the gunk that blowing your nose can't. It can help alleviate sinus pressure, sooth irritated skin inside your nose, and enable you to breath easier.

As for how to use a Neti Pot, it takes a little bit of trial and error to get your own personal technique mastered. The video below is a great resource for getting started. If you've never heard of a Neti Pot before or seen somebody use one, it may seem a little scary. However, if you relax and take your time with it, I think you will find the process to be painless and well worth the effort.

A few tips for first time Neti-Potters:

Test the temperature of the water carefully, and always err on the side of caution. You do not want it to be too hot! I find room temperature water or just slightly warmer works most comfortably for me.

Be sure to lean your head forwards when you begin pouring the water. If you don't lean forward, you run the risk of the solution coming down the back of your throat and leaving you with a salty taste in your mouth.

This may seem obvious, but you'll want to position yourself and your Neti Pot over a sink, outside, or for those advanced Potters... in the shower. All that water going in will be coming out!

Take the time to clean your Neti Pot and keep it sanitary. I chose a ceramic pot that can be washed in the dishwasher.

If the Neti Pot seems a little too daunting, there are alternative products on the market that provide the same service. The NeilMed bottle, for example, can be used without tipping one's head to the side (you simply lean forward and squeeze the sides of the plastic bottle to push the water through the nasal passages), which may be easier for some.

Additional Resources

Since I started using a Neti Pot, I feel my head is much clearer and it's like I have a little secret weapon when I start to get sniffly. I love that it's a safe and easy to use product, and has been time-tested. But don't just take my word for it. Here are some additional resources to check out:

Do Neti Pots Reall Work? From WebMD

The History of the Neti Pot from eHow

Neti Pot: Can it Clear Your Nose? from Mayo Clinic

Also, I'm no expert. If you have any concerns or questions about whether or not a Neti Pot would work well for you, consider seeing your doctor, wellness expert, or healer of choice first.

Smart Water Use

I saw this great video on Jason Mraz's blog and found it so interesting I wanted to share. It is eye-opening to see just how much water we use in our everyday lives. Looking to use a little less of this precious resource yourself? Decreasing or cutting out your meat consumption and eating locally (i.e. starting your day with domestic produce, not fruit flown in from New Zealand) are great ways to start! Shave outside of the shower. Don't wash your clothes after each and every wear (underwear is a definite exception) - quality clothing can be worn multiple times before getting tossed in the laundry basket. Opt for garden and landscaping plants native to your area and you'll avoid constant watering. Check out the video below for some more simple ideas:

Holiday Season

This GAP commercial makes me smile every time for oh so many reasons. How can it not put you in the holiday spirit, whatever your holiday may be? It's nearly time to start celebrating the season of giving - giving of our time and love to others. How are you getting in the holiday spirit?

New Features!

I'm excited to announce that new features are coming to Apartment 303 in the near future! What kind of features, you ask? Original video and photo content are on the way, along with lots more tips and inspiration for living brilliantly. Look for new recipes, how-tos, and personal development exercises to come. In the mean time, here's a super quick video I made to get familiar with the editing process. Please excuse the drab coloring - natural lighting is in the cards for next time ;)

Apartment 303 from Paige Doster on Vimeo.

Artist Spotlight: Regina Spektor

Regina Spektor is a Soviet-born musician whose songs beautifully combine the unexpected. A classical pianist by trade, she's not afraid to switch to an electric keyboard, electric guitar, or play a chair as a drum when the mood is right. Her powerful voice and raw lyrics, however, are what really set her apart from the pack.

I was lucky enough to see Regina at the House of Blues in Boston last night, and it was a fantastic show! She also happens to be tremendously cute...

Parkour

In following with yesterday's theme of the crazy and inspiring things people do (you can see yesterday's post on bicycle polo here) I wanted to share another fringe hobby that is quite simply a delight to watch. Parkour is sort of a combination of running, obstacle maneuvering, and ninja prowess. While not really a spectator sport, Parkour is both a mental and physical art in which practitioners use their bodies to fluidly interact with the world around them in an efficient, quiet, and natural manner. The back story for how Parkour was started is actually very interesting, and you can read more about the founders of Parkour on the Wikipedia entry here. The brief (very, very brief) version is that inspiration for the practice came from a Frenchman's (Georges Herbert) observations of the abilities of Africa's indigenous peoples and was put into practice largely by the Belle family (Raymond and his son David).

What's really cool about Parkour is that the entire practice is based on the natural movements and abilities of the human body. It is by not exactly a sport, and there is a push among many within the Parkour community to keep the activity competition free - after all, the practice is about self-development and it would kind of be like making yoga competitive... you just don't.

Now, since it is really hard to describe what Parkour actually entails (and I have likely done nothing but confuse you so far!) let's get on to the videos, shall we? Quickly, though, disclaimer: don't go trying to jump off a building or climbing up some sculpture at the park because you saw someone do it on my blog, okay? I admit, it makes me want to go jump over something too - but be smart and think of this as motivation to explore more of your body's abilities next time you go for a jog, not a confirmation that you can be reckless, scale the side of your neighbor's house, and not get injured. These people have been working on their craft for a long time.

This first video is a good intro, and especially good for the faint of heart:

Some great female Parkour:

And here is Daniel Ilabaca, simply amazing:

Bicycle Polo

I am continually amazed by what the seemingly fearless fringe of humanity is able to do physically, and create conceptually. Next time you are feeling uninspired just Google search yourself some "inspiring people", "craziest artists", or "extreme sports videos" and you will be amazed what people are doing on this tiny planet.

I cannot credit a Google search with my own bizarre and totally awesome inspiration tonight - the gem of a hobby known as Bicycle Polo was introduced to me this evening by my boyfriend. Initially I thought he was making it up, but according to one New York Times video I found on YouTube, Bicycle Polo has been around a long while (it was actually a demo sport in the 1908 Olympics!). The sport itself is pretty self-explanatory: think horse polo on a bike. Granted, the speed of the game is not too rapid and the talent is as much in the cyclist's handling skills as it is in the explosive power of his or her gams. Nevertheless, what a totally odd and surprisingly (well, at least to me) popular international sport! Check out the clip below to see what the traditional bicycle polo game looks like. There are street polo versions of the game too - think small asphalt courts and single speed road bikes or fixies as the mounts. Intrigued? Fortunately there's a U.S. Bicycle Polo Association Website and the Bicycle Polo Organization Website to get you started.

More crazy and totally amazing inspiration to come soon!

Artist Spotlight: Carbon Leaf

I saw Carbon Leaf perform at Red Rocks last night before Film on the Rocks started (we saw The Princess Bride - so fun) and was really impressed by their live set. Carbon Leaf is a Virginia band that combines a little bit of celtic country bluegrass with a folksy old rock sound. Yes, I realize that sounds like a very eclectic (okay, weird) mishmash of music styles, but the 5-man group pulls it off. The result? Many a catchy melody that will have you rocking in your seat and ready for a beer. 

The song "Life Less Ordinary" is likely the band's most well-known hit which frequented the radio waves in early 2005. I never cared much for the single so I didn't search for more of their work, but last night was a pleasant surprise. You can learn more about the band on their website here and if you like what you discover I'd definitely look into seeing them live. Last night's performance was an opening act for an outdoor movie - the crowd was largely young families - but the band still put on a great performance and had plenty of people dancing on their feet. 

I was hoping to post videos of my favorite songs from last night, but unfortunately the sound quality of the videos I found on YouTube are not up to Apartment 303 standards. So instead I've posted two songs below to whet your appetite (just click once on the large round play button to hear the songs without getting linked to another page) though I highly recommend going to the Carbon Leaf Community Page where you can listen to 10 different songs. My favorites are One Prairie Outpost, Lake of Silver Belles, and Another Man's Woman. 

The Boxer - Carbon Leaf

What About Everything? - Carbon Leaf

Video: Lost Generation

My good friend Julie shared this video with me and I loved the message so much I wanted to share it with you. After spending a great deal of energy searching job postings today and feeling increasingly discouraged about the employment front, this video gave me just the gentle reminder about priorities I needed.