From media to munchies, we gathered our year-end faves. Get to know our staff’s picks with our big “Best of” 2022 list.
An asterisk (*) denotes local business.
Sarah O’Leary, L.Ac., Acupuncturist, Founder & CEO
Coffee: Flash frozen pods that you simply add water to, cometeer.com
Meal Kit Delivery: Dinnerly – an affordable and easy (4-6 ingredients) meal prep service that’s lower waste and lower cost than its competitors, dinnerly.com
Arts & Crafts: Pigment Salt Sprinkles – a fun new art tool. Sprinkle on wet watercolor paper and watch the dynamic color expand. Up the fun by mixing mediums (watercolor pens, crayons, etc.), rubymountainpaintco.com
Adult art classes at Social Studio* in Roland Park, socialstudioart.com
To-do: Explore the hidden footpaths of Roland Park, rolandpark.org
Cometeer home brew coffee system. I love a great cup of coffee. It’s my favorite ritual of the morning (makes driving or emails way more special).
Libby Ballantyne, Administrative Assistant
To-do: Misty morning walks at Stoney Run or Lake Roland
Drink: Oat milk lattes from Sophomore Coffee*, @sophomorecoffee
Food: Dried mango from the bulk section of MOM’s Organic Market* is best, but I’m really not picky, if it is near me I will inhale it
Stoney Run Trail.
Dr. Brian Dougherty, D.OM., Acupuncturist
Book: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Music: Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony
Food: Nora’s Kabob* (Persian Food)
TV Show: Stranger Things (Netflix)
Movie: Top Gun–Maverick (Paramount+)
Mahler’s 5th Symphony is my favorite of his–and the famous conductor Leonard Bernstein was buried with his copy–it was his favorite too.
Julia Flaccavento, L.Ac., Acupuncturist
Album: Long Lost by Lord Huron
Movie: Barbarian (HBO)
Food/Drink: Alma Cucina Latina*, @almacocinalatina
Local Biz: Walther Gardens*, @walthergardens
Artist/Maker: The Broken Plate Co.*, @thebrokenplate_jules
Vibe: finishing acu school
Marissa Gorey, L.Ac., Acupuncturist
Podcast: Nightlight Astrology, Apple podcast
Book: We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers
Drink: Smoky Salted Mezcalita from Clavel*, barclavel.com
Food: The brisket at 2Fifty Texas BBQ in Riverdale Park, 2fiftybbq.com
2Fifty Texas BBQ. There’s just nothing like good TX BBQ.
Alaina Grim, LMT, Massage Therapist
Book: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Pick-me-up Drink: Dirty chai latte
Pizza: Underground Pizza Company, undergroundpizza.co*
At-home self-care: Cherapy Heat Wraps, cherapy.com
Cherapy Heat Wraps.
Sarah Humpal, L.Ac., Acupuncturist, Canton Captain
Self-cultivation course: Radical Permission hosted by the amazing adrienne maree brown and Sonya Renee Taylor, radicalpermission.org
Instagram follow: adrienne maree brown is the self-proclaimed memewitch I needed this year, @adriennemareebrown
New Baltimore restaurant: Church Bar* – I had an amazing meal, cocktail, and overall experience here, filledwiththespirits.com
Way to make lunch time brighter: Doing a lunch swap with my coworker, Dana. Each week, we’d make an extra helping of a meal and bring each other a prepared lunch. This was super motivating to help me meal prep and it was so nice to enjoy someone else’s cooking (without paying to go out!)
Radical Permission. This class brings together journaling, embodiment practices, with wise & joyful instructor dialogue and videos to guide folks in deep work and pleasure.
Antonia Jennifer, IR, Reflexologist
Artist: Brent Faiyez
Book: Sacred Woman: A Guide to Healing the Feminine Body, Mind, and Spirit by Queen Afua
Sacred Woman. This book is my study guide/bible to peace, sanctuary and healing thyself.
Yan Jiang, L.Ac., Acupuncturist
Album: Lang Lang’s Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2
TV show: A Chinese one named Lang Ya Bang
Book: A Study on Hui-neng’s Life, Sutra Liuzutanjing — it’s in Chinese, book of teaching of Zen Buddhism
Recipe: millet congee (millet with water, slow cooker on high for 4 hrs)
Artist: El Greco is my new favorite artist
Vision of St. John, El Greco.
Dr. Stacey Kargman, N.M.D., L.Ac., Naturopathic Doctor and Acupuncturist
Board game: Wingspan & Azul
Restaurant meal outside: The Verandah Kitchen*, theverandahkitchen.com
Local nature walking spot: Cylburn Arboretum
Concert: Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys
TV Show: Gentleman Jack (HBO), CBS Sunday Morning
Wingspan and Azul. Fun to play and I get to learn about birds.
Dr. Brianna Livesay, L.Ac., DOM, Acupuncturist
Drink: Bengong’s bubble tea
Product: 100% pure caffeine eye cream
Movie: Jodha Akbar (Bollywood)
Book: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Alexandra McElwee, L.Ac., Acupuncturist
Movement: Monday evening Vinyasa yoga with Amanda Briody at Soulage*. This is one of the best yoga classes and one of the best teachers that I’ve experienced in my life, soulagebaltimore.com
Recipe: Coconut-Ginger Chickpea Soup. The garnishes make it. The garnishes make it.
Book: Crying in Hmart by Michelle Zauner, Flight Behavior by Baraba Kingsolver and Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Self-care: I like to treat myself to a 30 minute float every now and then at Journey Within, journeywithin.com
Sensory deprivation float tank. As someone who loves and finds comfort in being in water, it feels nourishing to be weightless and held, and also a way to challenge myself to let go.
Tara Monet, LMT, Massage Therapist, Retail Manager
Self-care: Bodywork. A lot of people look at massage therapy as a “treat” or something that’s a luxury, instead of healing or medicine. Prioritizing self-care, such a simple act, but so nurturing and healing.
Artist: Alex Isley – she covers music that is like the soundtrack to my life. In all areas such as love, success, career stuff, having gratitude, and self-care. She helped me get through the final quarter of this year. If I were a singer, my music would sound like her.
Alex Isley. A bit of soul, a bit of jazz, and very ethereal.
Dana Robinson, L.Ac., Acupuncturist, Remington Captain
Food: Dimitri Olive Oil and Aged Balsamic Vinegar*, dimitrioliveoil.com
Artist: Zach Schoettler‘s whimsical illustrations*, zachschoettler.com
TV Show: Kantaro, the Sweet Tooth Salaryman (Netflix)
CSA: Good Dog Farm Community Agriculture Share*, gooddogfarmmd.com
Kantaro, the Sweet Tooth Salaryman. This takes the fantasies created by the Great British Bake Off to truly fantastic levels.
Cyntha Salmond, L.Ac., Acupuncturist
Drink: Cherry Ginger Margarita – I love Tequila and I love Margaritas. Since I lost my taste (pre-COVID), I am always looking for a drink that I can almost taste.
Music: Sometimes, Forever by Soccer Mommy, Expert in a Dying Field by The Beths, Uncanny Valley by COIN, Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Show: Drink Masters (Netflix), World Cup competition
Cherry Ginger Margarita. This drink is UBER tart from the cherry and FIRE (from the tequila) so it’s a dance on the tongue which brings me smiles.
Amanda Schulz, Billing Director
Food: roasted veggies with cilantro yogurt sauce
Gift: blank journals
Music: Pianist and Composer Ola Gjielo
Gardening hack: Reusable grocery bags and tote bags as planters. This summer I decided to experiment with using one as a planter, and successfully grew a (very robust!) cherry tomato plant that continued flowering into November. It has great drainage and the handles make it easy to move.
Reusable bags as planters. Don’t we all have way too many reusable gardening bags and cotton tote bags?
Alex Shifflet, Administrative Assistant
Movie: TÁR
Book: X by Davey Davis
Album: SOS by Sza
TV Show: The White Lotus (HBO)
Mary Shock, Multi-Site Office Manager
Book: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
TV Show: A League of Their Own (Paramount+)
Movie: Everything Everywhere All at Once (Paramount+, Showtime)
Probs best movie I’ve ever seen, cried through the whole 2nd half.
