Mind + Body: May 2018
Dresses for Success: Believe in Yourself donates brand new dresses for girls to wear to their upcoming school dances.
Sam Sisakhti, founder of UsTrendy (an independent fashion e-commerce site) started a foundation one year ago called Believe in Yourself in an effort to have a positive influence on young women. Some of the objectives of the organization include combatting the financial pressures that are felt on underprivileged girls and their families to continuously stay in style and purchase new items each season, along with promoting positive body image and fighting cyber bullying. Now, Believe in Yourself is coming to New Orleans to donate brand new dresses (never worn with tags still on) for girls to wear to their upcoming school dances.
Girls who receive dresses at the donation event (to be held TK) will then be entered into a system where they are tracked to see their progress in achieving goals (whether improving their academics or pursuing an extracurricular interest such as music, dance or sports). In this way, they are eligible for future dress donations all throughout the school year for various special occasions.
Believe in Yourself also is part of a broader initiative: The charity brings in mentors and speakers to motivate the girls to believe in themselves. These mentors also provide tips if the girls are experiencing a negative body image or bullying of any kind, and they counsel the girls to help them achieve their dreams and goals. believeinyourself.org
Spring Staycation: A new app makes same-day hotel bookings as easy as 1-2-3.
We all need to get away sometimes, but it’s not always feasible to take a vacation. That’s where an app called One Night — the only hotel mobile booking platform founded by a hotel company (The Standard) — comes in handy. The app, which launched in Sept. 2016 in New York and Los Angeles, recently expanded to New Orleans, offering travelers and locals the opportunity to embrace the spontaneous spirit of the Crescent City via same-day bookings on the app.
“One Night gives travelers and locals the opportunity for discovery and spontaneity, while remaining in The Standard’s trusted hands,” says Amar Lalvani, CEO of Standard International. “Our team has personally selected all of the hotels to ensure they meet our discerning experiential criteria. There is no city anywhere that fits the One Night philosophy better than New Orleans.”
The app provides spontaneous reservations at the lowest available rates for more than 170 carefully selected lifestyle hotels in 15 sought-after destination markets, including Austin, Dallas and Nashville. The New Orleans expansion adds seven independent properties to the One Night offering, including The Drifter Hotel, Windsor Court Hotel, International House Hotel, Loft 523, Henry Howard Hotel, Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery, and Catahoula Hotel.
Even better, One Night also provides guests with an hour-by-hour insider’s guide of what to do in and around the hotel to make the most of their experience. For example, a stay at the hip Loft 523 (sister property to International House Hotel) comes with a suggested itinerary that includes grabbing a cocktail at Loa followed by gallery hopping along Julia Street. One Night is available for free download in the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. onenight.com
Maria’s Pick — Guide to Healthy Living: A new book guides readers to transform their eating from self-control to self-love.
In her new book, entitled Nourish: How to Heal Your Relationship with Food, Body, and Self ($17, Hummingbird Press), nutrition therapist and registered dietitian Heidi Schauster tackles disordered and emotional eating. While there is always a new trend or fad in dieting, and while the conversation of mindful eating is gaining steam, it’s clear that dieting continues to be the most popular method when it comes to losing weight. However, most diets tell people what to eat, as opposed to teaching them how to connect to their inner wisdom and life experience to make decisions about food, physical activity and, ultimately, self-care.
Schauster, who battled bulimia, food restriction and binge eating during her time as a young dancer, knows what it’s like to have a struggling relationship with food. Her recovery 25 years ago led her to a life-long passion of helping others get past obsessions with food, self-criticism and negative body image.
Topics in the book include 10 steps to heal your relationship with food, body and self; why aiming to lose weight gets in the way of having a healthy relationship with food; and how being in touch with your feelings and needs will help you to eat better.
“This is a powerful book for anyone who has ever struggled with their weight, dieting or self-image issues,” says Maria Muro, publisher of New Orleans Living. “Even if you have a healthy relationship with food, this book helps to keep things in perspective.” anourishingword.com