Starr Struck State of the Union

Well, it's time. Starr Struck needs a facelift and I'm feeling the need to mix things up a bit.

It's been over 2 years since my last redesign/website makeover, and things have gotten a bit stale. I'm jonesing for a cleaner, more streamlined look, and I'm totally sick of the cutesy little bunting decor that I added somewhere along the way (it was fun at first, but now I'm DONE with it)...

You know when you go WAY too long between haircuts, and your hair starts getting more and more scraggly, and you keep putting it off, and then one day you're like, "Ahhhh! I need a haircut today!" And you book a cut with the first person you can find who can take you in an hour? 

I'm almost at that point with my blog. I need a blogcut STAT. 

So, in order to give my online home the attention that it needs, I'll be taking a mini blogging break from August 4th-August 8th to do some much-needed clean-up  in Starr Struck land. During that time I'll be refreshing the blog and both of my websites--my yoga and painting sites--and am hoping to make everything a bit more cohesive and simplified (because who doesn't like that?).

But first, before I do that, I want your feedback! Anything you'd like to see me add to the site during this revamp that would be helpful? Anything new that you want to see on the blog? More of one thing, less of another? Let me know.

Oh, and I already have one exciting change in place: Instead of running my "Reader Recipe" column once per month, I've decided to bring on my very fist contributor! I'm THRILLED to have Jocelyn Spurrier of Clean Creations (also my brother's GF of 10 years) join the SS team, which formerly consisted of just me, Ben, and Sayde (aka the Dream Team, amiright?). 

You may remember Jocelyn from last month's Reader Recipe, and as I said before, she is one of the best cooks that I know and is super committed to preparing healthy, delicious, original dishes, so I think she's the perfect fit for this new monthly column. 

Jocelyn's new column will be starting in August--so stay tuned--and for the final Reader Recipe column, which is going up next week, I'll be sharing one of my very own (kind of) recipes. Yeah, I make something every once in a while ;) 

In addition to a little website revamp, here are a few more happenings that will be taking place over the next few months...

SAVE-THE-DATES: 

-{BRAND NEW} Workshops at Tranquil Space Arlington: I'm coming back to DC in October! I can't wait! I'll be teaching two workshops at TSA this time, and they are as follows--

• Hip Hop Yoga on Friday, 10/10 from 8:30-10pm: Reserve your space online here. 
  
• Let's Celebrate the Hips: A Pigeon Pose Party on Saturday, 10/11 from 5-7pm:  Do you love your hip-openers? Do you love pigeon pose? Or maybe you don't love hip-openers, but know you need them? If so, this 2-hour workshop focused on external hip rotation is a perfect fit for you. We will begin with a vigorous vinyasa practice geared towards opening the hips in preparation for two hip-opening arm balances, galavasana and grasshopper (also called hummingbird), which we will work with towards the second half of class. We will then end with a few juicy, restorative hip openers (and of course, a few variations of pigeon pose) and a long savasana. The workshop will also address some of the emotions that come up when we work with the hips, and will allow space to release whatever bubbles up to the surface. We will flow to an upbeat soundtrack meant to inspire and uplift. Come ready to let go, explore, and celebrate the hips! Not appropriate for brand-new beginners. Reserve your space online here. 

-LoveYoga Fest, 8/15-17: In addition to selling my art at the festival (look for the booth with a banner that says "Starr Struck Studio"), I'll also be teaching a Hip Opening Slow Flow community class on Sunday, 8/17. This class is FREE to anyone--whether or not you're a part of the festival--so come on down! Details here. 

-Dream Big Yogathon on Sunday, 9/21 from 11:30-1:30: My first yoga fundraising event! Even if you can't attend, you can support in spirit by making a donation on my page (every little bit counts, so please don't feel weird about only giving $5 or so!). If you want to get involved, you can learn more here. 

-Costa Rica Art + Asana Retreat, 5/23-5/30, 2015: We had so much fun this year that we're going back next year! You can sign up and get all of the details here. 

IN THE WORKS...

-Fall 2014 Workshops: I'm currently in the process of finalizing my fall workshop schedule for studios here on the Cape...stay tuned! 

-Fall 2015 International Retreat: Kimberly and I are going to Europe (*fingers crossed*) and we're taking you with us! We're still putting all of the pieces together but look for an announcement soon...

Phew. I think that about covers it for now. 

Start thinking about the changes that you want to see in Starr Struck land and feel free to share away!

As always, THANK YOU for reading. You've made this whole blogging thing really, really life-changing.