Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over and done. Cooked. Now it’s time to get really serious about holiday shopping and/or winter equipment to gift oneself!

A little help here, please? Give me a shout out for some of your fav gifts or gear and I’ll be sure it gets a post.

Let me start with a few of my tried and true besties:

YOGA

MAT

Jade Yoga for best all around mat – www.jadeyoga.com – Harmony Mat

Manduka for tough and dense – www.manduka.com – any

Sankalpa for amazing graphics – www.livesankalpa.com – oh so many

ATTIRE

PRANA PRANA PRANA – love it all – www.Prana.com

Fav leggings or capris – Roxanne!

EXTRAS

Again Manduka – especially

Weighted cork yoga blocks

Enlight ® round bolster – delicious color – thrive

Align yoga strap 10’ (currently out of stock but hopefully  returning soon – extra length is useful)

There’s a chance you just might be headed to Freeport to do some outlet shopping before the year ends. If so, DO NOT MISS a Saturday morning class with my fav instructor, Terry Cockburn, at my fav studio – Freeport Yoga Company – www.freeportyogaco.com

OUTDOORS

Last night the temps here in Vermont dropped to single digits. Might be time to think more about staying warm in the outdoors.

My BEST find this year has been La Sportiva! Mind you, I haven’t gotten past the footwear, but the trail shoes have saved my life – or at least they have been so awesome they have pushed me out there more than ever. I prefer any shoe that gives me good traction as I have a way of shooting my feet out from under me on just about any vertical adventure. Log on to www.lasportiva.com, be sure you are in the US site, and check out Bushido trail runners. I hiked a fair amount this year and these babies were so confidence inspiring that I climbed outside my comfort zone.

I looked for other models for the fall season and struck out on a few that were too narrow in GTX. And then, after a long conversation with a customer service rep at LaSportiva, I took the plunge and tried the Women’s Crossover 2.0 GTX.

This boot/shoe looks like a Nordic boot with lacing and a zip closure, ankle high, warm, great traction, and instant comfort. Pricey but this will be my go-to boot for a long time, I’m sure!

PATAGONIA – Is there anything that Patagonia doesn’t have? Well, I LOVE vests – so great for layering. My 2 favorites from P. are the Nano Puff which comes in awesome colors and a very rugged, warm, weather and abrasion resistant vest called the W’s BIVY hooded vest. Check it out at www.patagonia.com.

There are SO many manufacturers and SO many places to shop. I can only scratch the surface and share my personally tested and recommended gear.

Furthermore, because they are “personally tested,” the items above are primarily for women – but there’s a man’s version of just about everything so have at it!

This is truly just the beginning of a list and, frankly, a list for someone special as one must dig deep to make these purchases. So, what about you? What can you add? Let me know. And happy shoppingJ