Lifestyle

Hip hip hooray, it’s Mardi Gras, grab a king cake

It’s Mardi Gras Day, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. Time for king cake. Americans usher in the new year with diets and lifestyle resolutions galore, but many people across the globe — particularly those from predominantly Catholic countries — celebrate the calendar change with a sweet pastry known as king cake. It first appears in bakery cases at the beginning of each year and can be…


Walk-up weddings all the rage at SD County office

Love is in the air? San Diego County will be issuing marriage licenses and performing ceremonies on Valentine’s Day for those love birds wanting to tie the knot or renew their wedding vows. Nearly 100 San Diego couples said no to expensive dinners, bouquets and treats last Valentine’s Day, instead they opted to take it a little bit further and say ‘I do.’ “San Diego…


Some people choose to live the nomadic van lifestyle

As the movie Nomadland revealed to the world, ever since the 2008 financial collapse, people have moved into vehicles as a way of surviving the high cost of living. The pandemic also fuelled an increase in the nomadic lifestyle. In 2020, my co-researcher Scott Rankin and I looked at how people who live in vehicles balance work and life. In doing so, we discovered that…


Bringing mid-20th Century modern furniture aesthetics to early 21st Century lives and homes

Applying an international twist to the American Dream, the globe-trotting French native Aymerick Rondeau, 44, now scours the world for authentic 1960s Scandinavian mid-century modern furniture, bringing it all back to his San Marcos warehouse and home. Like Cher and Oprah, the effervescent Rondeau is known by first name only as Aymerick. He followed the sun as a young man working in the hospitality industry…


Paw Paw, Maw Maw, getting stoned, going to emergency rooms at record levels, UCSD research doctors say

As a growing number of older adults are experimenting with cannabis to help alleviate chronic symptoms, a new University of California San Diego School of Medicine study has identified a sharp increase in cannabis-related emergency department visits among the elderly. The study, published Jan. 9, 2023 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, identified a 1,808% relative increase in the rate of cannabis-related trips…


(Trust?) But verify before donating to non-profits

Why Should You Research a Nonprofit Before You Donate? In general, nonprofit organizations exist to further a social cause or provide a public benefit. While many do, some don’t live up to the values and mission they claim. How nonprofits spend their money may be different than what you expect. For instance, ProPublica has reported on how the Red Cross built just six homes after…


Reflecting on grief during the holidays

The year-end holidays are a time of social gatherings, traditions and celebrations. They can also be a time of revisiting and reflection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2.8 million people die each year in the U.S. If we conservatively estimate four or five grievers per death, there are 11 to 14 million people who are experiencing their first holiday season without…


Charm of honey; fine glasses toast great party

Two event-related items from Sabrina Cadini’s La Dolce Idea – The Charm of Honey, followed by fine glasses toast the perfect party. Honey always has been a pantry item in our house. My mom, an avid tea drinker, religiously brews a cup of Earl Grey after 4 p.m. every afternoon, enhancing the aroma with a spoonful of honey. I am attracted to all those different varieties…


San Diego County health officials address recent local COVID misinformation, COVID shots for kids 5-to-11

An independent panel of local doctors today addressed COVID-19 misinformation brought up at the Nov. 2 County Board of Supervisors meeting. The Nov. 3, 2021 virtual event, which was interpreted live into Spanish, was moderated by Dr. Eric McDonald, County chief medical officer, and included Dr. Siu Ming Geary from Scripps Clinic La Jolla, Dr. Jeannette Aldous from San Ysidro Health, Dr. Zulma Curet with…


Climate change uncertainty hurts everyone

Tarik Benmarhnia didn’t plan on ending up here, in an office overlooking the pier at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. As a young student in France, he started out studying environmental engineering, with an interest in soil decontamination. During his schooling, he developed an interest in environmental justice. That eventually drove him to pursue a Ph.D. in epidemiology. Most stories about climate change…