February 2019 - The Brick Magazine

Faith to Face Hard Times with Sadeepa Munasinghe

bridget b2019-01-28T14:01:15+00:00February 1st, 2019|Ann Arbor Interest|

Photos by Heather Nash By Kristen Domingue The Brick cover-story articles are most often written by the interviewee as responses to our questions. The interviewee sends her answers to me for review. I then edit the article to create a clear story arc and narrative resonance before passing it to our editor for final review. Never have I worked on an article that moved me to tears. Sadeepa is living with Wilson’s disease, which impacts her verbal and written communication skills. However, you can see for yourself that despite the challenges she faces, she’s of “sound mind,” even more so given [...]

Woman on the Street: Wafting

bridget b2019-01-28T13:00:56+00:00February 1st, 2019|Inspirational|

Photo by Alex Blăjan on Unsplash By Stephanie Saline I’m known for a lot of things. Smelling good isn’t one of them. But today, I walked into my favorite café and a well-dressed stranger — a woman, it bears saying — told me as I walked past, “You smell good.” It’s a small place. So upon hearing it, three other women sitting at separate tables took a deep inhale. I sat down at a table, and the woman at the table next to me said, “It’s an odd thing, for a stranger to say you smell good. But you really do. As you sat [...]

Wardrobe Pro-Tips: Foundations and Finishing Touches

bridget b2019-01-28T12:06:02+00:00February 1st, 2019|Uncategorized|

By Angela Harrison Why do celebrities (almost) always look phenomenal in their clothes? They’re human, they’re not a different species from us — and yet, their bodies seem to wear everything perfectly. Realistically, that level of “perfection” takes about four to five behind-the-scenes people to execute what we see on talk shows, red carpets, and social media. While this kind of maintenance is unrealistic for everyday life, the techniques used to achieve these flawless looks are easily accessible and often overlooked. All you really need is the right style of bra for what you’re wearing, and well-fitting shapewear. Bras: Sizing, [...]

The “F -Word” That Is Key to Healing

bridget b2019-01-28T11:48:10+00:00February 1st, 2019|Health|

Photo by Andreas Selter on Unsplash By Morella Devost, EdM, MA For many years in my life, looking in the mirror was painful. I hated what I saw. There were many days I felt ashamed to leave my house looking the way I did. April, 2007 I used to have massive cystic acne. Last month in this column, I wrote about the healing of my acne and how I realized my physical health was intrinsically connected to the health of our planet. I talked about the 3-day juicing detox that opened my eyes, how I systematically “detoxified” my home after that, and [...]

Low and Slow: A Secret Weapon

bridget b2019-01-28T13:54:54+00:00February 1st, 2019|Recipes|

Photo by Eiliv-Sonas Aceron on Unsplash By Jillian Fraioli If you’ve read any of my past articles, you’ll know that my “secret ingredients” are fish sauce and miso paste. Those items add umami, which I believe is key to amping up all of your endeavors in the kitchen. Everyone has a different idea of a “secret ingredient.” A good example is Samin Nosrat’s Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, where she demonstrates how those four elements, or “secret ingredients” if you will, are the key to consistently better cooking. Salt brings out deeper flavors. Fat helps us achieve texture. Acid balances that flavor. And heat transforms [...]

Joy in the Winter

bridget b2019-01-28T12:51:05+00:00February 1st, 2019|Health|

Photo by Brigitte Tohm on Unsplash By Heather Glidden The temps feel like they’ve been cold forever. Theoretically the days are getting longer, but the days still seem pretty short to me, and summer still feels like a long time away. This makes February one of the toughest months in Michigan. What’s the secret ingredient to creating joy during one of the darkest, coldest months of the year? The surprising answer is to open your heart to it! Now, this doesn’t mean you have to fall in love with the winter (although you may find you don’t mind it as much if you practice [...]

The Secret to Living a Minimalist Lifestyle – (Hint: It’s Not Just About the “Stuff”!)

bridget b2019-01-28T11:32:00+00:00February 1st, 2019|Minimalism|

Photo by Diana Simumpande on Unsplash By Bridget Baker In the past few years, we’ve become much more aware of our stuff — or, more specifically, the need to get rid of our stuff by decluttering and letting things go. Concepts like only keeping items that “spark joy,” or the notion that all of your physical possessions should “bring value” in your life, may have you in a frenzy of sorting, purging, and donating. You may think that if you could just pare down your belongings enough, then you’d BE enough. Well, what if it were never about the stuff? What if I told [...]

A New Year’s Promise for Her Daughter

bridget b2019-02-01T12:18:19+00:00February 1st, 2019|Ann Arbor Interest|

By Pat Pancioli On Tuesday afternoons, strollers and car seats line the halls of the one-story office building. Inside the conference room, mothers and their babies meet for the free MomShare drop-in group. They’ve come to connect, learn, and share at this program in the Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan. Alice Liao, the Center’s Communications Coordinator, and her one-year old daughter join them. This is a place Alice never expected to be. Born in a country half a world away, where boys were prized over girls, she had many plans for her life, but being a parent was not among them. [...]

THE NEW ‘SECRET SAUCE’ OF ESSENTIAL OILS

bridget b2019-01-28T12:23:57+00:00February 1st, 2019|Uncategorized|

Photo by Arjun Kapoor on Unsplash By Lisa Profera, MD What’s new and exciting in the world of essential oils? Well, meet the new kid on the block, Yarrow/Pom. This new blend by doTERRA has everyone excited; it supports our internal and external health in so many wonderful ways. By combining essential oils derived from the flowers, leaves, and stems of yarrow with pomegranate seed extract, a powerful botanical “dynamic duo” has been created. Why is this so special? “Yarrow/Pom is an expertly crafted proprietary blend of Yarrow essential oil and cold-pressed Pomegranate seed oil designed to be your go-to for a true inside-out [...]

The Secret Ingredient Hangover Cure

bridget b2019-01-28T13:21:51+00:00February 1st, 2019|drinking, rum|

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash By Liz Crowe Once upon a time I used to be able to drink my body weight in cheap beer and booze, sleep a few hours, and wake up the next day ready to tackle the world. This was in a magical land called “College,” during which time I could also fast for twenty-four hours and drop a dress size. Ah…youth. In this land, all that was required after a particularly fun night of said cheap alcohol consumption was a liter of water and something with plenty of carbs to soak up the residual booze in my system [...]

Dancing with Longings

bridget b2019-01-28T13:10:07+00:00February 1st, 2019|Inspirational|

Photo by Alexis Fauvet on Unsplash by Maria Sylvester, MSW, CPC “In the lover’s heart is a flute which plays the melody of longing.” ~ Rumi Here we are in February, the month that somehow got dedicated to love and the celebration of Valentine’s Day. For so many, though, this holiday brings with it a heightened sense of longing — an aching heart, you might say — for a lover, partner, or the bettering of a relationship one is already in. Often, longings such as these are equated with emotional pain, frustration, despair, or unrequited desires. Longings, of any kind really, can leave us [...]

Simple Manners Can Make For a More Civil Society

bridget b2019-01-28T14:16:25+00:00February 1st, 2019|Relationships|

Photo by Amy Shamblen on Unsplash By Marilyn Pellini As I was about to pay my check at the local sandwich shop, two teenage boys joined me at the register. They looked fairly affluent, dressed in Under Armour from head to toe. They were definitely not thugs. Suddenly I felt a bump on my shoulder, and an arm shot directly in front of my face, and I was forced to jump back a little. One of the boys reached across for a menu. Not a word of apology was uttered, and I have to admit I was rather annoyed since I am a senior [...]