SFBayStyle

Hottest Yoga in Town

Ninety minutes of pretzel like poses in one hundred and five degree heat?  Sign me up!  If you have been living under a rock for the last year, you may have not heard of the new yoga craze - Bikram Yoga.  It’s a sequence of 26 poses that are held for a minute to a minute in a half in heated room, and the results are intense.  Not only is this a great way to drop those extra pounds, but you experience a total body rejuvenation.  While performing this 90 minute sequence of poses in a “sweat box”, you are releasing toxins, improving flexibility, range of motion, circulation and your immune system.  Not to mention it is a great stress reliever and a good facial!  

Bikram Yoga was created by Bikram Choudhury after he was crippled by a weight lifting accident.  He developed a series of core strengthening poses which he has scientifically proven to regenerate tissue and cure chronic ailments.  He introduced his yoga practice into the states in 1973, and has since built an empire off of the heated yoga.  Through seminars, certification programs, instructional CDs and videos, Bikram clothing, and the thousands of studios that have opened to continue Bikram, is a self-made multi-millionaire.  

Monkapaws Jewelry

Besides the wine, fried food and cover bands, why are street fairs so much fun? All the handmade jewelry of course! And I have found my festival favorite, MONKAPAWS.

Renee Berlung, the creator of MONKAPAWS jewelry, designs her pieces out of turn of the century typewriter keys, vintage buttons and antique broken china.  The jewelry resembles a modern design of 1920s pieces with a rough but delicate appeal.  She creates necklaces, rings, bracelets, pendants and earings, all of which are eye catching and original.  The jewlery can fit any occasion, from the "first date wearers" to "everyday accents".

Renee's creations can be purchased online, or if you are a street fair fanatic like me, you can visit these upcoming events to see her collection in person.

August 1-2 Freemot Festival of the Arts Fremont
August 15-16 Los Gatos Fiesta De Artes
September 12-13 Mountian View Art and Wine

Crossroads Trading Company

The only way I justify shopping is by making room in my closet.  I usually pack up a garbage bag full of clothes that have "expired", and drop it off at Goodwill on my lunch break.  Instead I thought, “why don’t I try to get some cash for them?” I filled two grocery bags full of clothes and took them down to Crossroads Trading Co. consignment store.

Crossroads was created in 1991 by Gerald Block and Chip Gerken, in hopes of offering a great selection of merchandise at reasonable prices for fashion-conscious shoppers.  Now with 24 locations all over the West Coast, fashion-junkies (like me) can buy, “new and recycled clothing and to receive cash or trade credit for the high-quality, fashionable items they sell back to the company."