Lifestyle

As we kissed, I realized a surprising truth about my date. We had history

Published

2 days ago

April 10, 2026

As we kissed, I realized a surprising truth about my date. We had history

I didn’t think anyone would take my Hinge prompt seriously. My ideal first date is … hot yoga. The prompt was partly a joke, written by a friend because I couldn’t figure out what to write. If anything, I figured the prompt would explain the series of yoga pictures scattered across my profile, proving to potential suitors that I wasn’t simply a yoga poser like most Angelenos who view vinyasa as just another workout trend.

I was a “serious yogi,” and to date me would mean respecting my daily practice and being OK with the 3,000 small Ganesha statues tucked into every crevice of my apartment.

Still, I was surprised and slightly amused when Noah asked, in all seriousness, if I would like to go to a yoga class with him and then get dinner afterward. In my effort to go on as many dates as possible as quickly as possible, I said yes, of course. I was a couple of months removed from an eight-year relationship that ended badly. I had convinced myself it would take 100 bad first dates before I found anyone remotely interesting. At least a yoga date for date No. 14 would be slightly more exciting than recounting life stories over drinks at the local bar.

In the texting convo that followed planning our date, Noah and I exchanged music tastes. He is a raver and loves EDM, and I am a Swiftie who also, as it turned out, loves EDM. We learned we attended Chapman University at the same time. We both worked on the Fox lot during the same years. And we share an appreciation for tofu, which he called a “gift from the heavens,” making my vegan heart skip a beat.

Noah and I met at a popular hot yoga studio in Hollywood for our one-hour Bikram-vinyasa fusion date. There was something familiar about him that I initially attributed to having crossed paths in college at some point. In the moments before class, we unloaded our gym bags and shoes into separate lockers outside of the yoga room while exchanging hellos that I expected to be awkward but somehow felt easy and unforced. My interest piqued.

In the yoga room, we set up our mats in the second row. As the class started and the instructor dimmed the lights to an orange glow, it hit me that hot yoga might be a horrible first date idea. We were two strangers, our yoga mats a little too close together, already sweating profusely as the yoga teacher instructed us into sun salutations. I couldn’t decide whether to focus on the class, the poses and keeping my breath slow or if I should try to continuously look cute since this was a date. I kept accidentally catching Noah’s eye in the mirror, and through facial expressions, tried to communicate that I was having fun and in no way subtly judging his yoga practice.

At some point during class, Noah slipped his shirt off and, even through my sweat-filled gaze, I caught a glimpse of his six-pack in the mirror. He met my eyes right as I started to blush, and I looked away fast, embarrassed at having been caught staring. The room suddenly felt hotter and more humid than before. I struggled to steady my breath. Yes, this was definitely a horrible yet interesting first date idea.

The teacher cued us onto our bellies for a backbend sequence. My eyes met Noah’s in the mirror again. This time I turned to look at him, and he smiled a surprisingly familiar smile that meant, “I know this is weird, but I’m having fun too.”

“That was a nice class,” Noah said once our hour was up and we were back in the air-conditioned studio lobby. “It’s one way to see your date sweaty and half-naked.”

I laughed in agreement as we parted ways to shower and change for dinner.

We met again at Cafe Gratitude on Larchmont Boulevard and ordered dishes called “I Am Grateful” and “I Am Remarkable” while recounting the class from our perspectives. He told me about his interest in yoga, how he only recently began practicing as a way to help with mobility. I told him yoga keeps me grounded. I showed off the book I kept in my purse, a story about living Jewishly in modern times, which led to a discussion of how we both grew up Jewish on opposite sides of the country. I liked how neither of us ordered a drink with dinner, choosing water over alcohol as the conversation remained interesting and focused. I liked how he was nice to the server and that his eye contact put me at ease. I liked how after paying the check, he walked me to my car and asked if he could kiss me.

I nodded, and he closed the distance between us. We kissed, and with it came a memory: Freshman year of college, orientation week or shortly afterward, I was at a football party with the girl who would soon be my sorority big. I was drunk and chatty and looking to make friends. I started talking to a freshman boy, and that conversation soon turned to making out, the way most drunken college flirting did back then.

My eyes opened, I pulled away from the kiss. “Have we done this before?” I asked.

Noah blushed then nodded softly.

“Freshman year, I think,” he said, “at a party.”

“A football party?”

“Yes!” He laughed, and I did too.

We kissed again. It was the type of kiss you don’t forget. The type that makes sense.

“Well, we have to do this again,” he concluded.

We said good night. He texted me a song to listen to. I played it in the car on repeat until I arrived home.

Until Noah, I thought an invisible string was only the name of a Taylor Swift song. Now, I know better.

The author is a community builder, writer and yoga teacher. She lives in Echo Park. She’s on Instagram: @allegramarcelle.

L.A. Affairs chronicles the search for romantic love in all its glorious expressions in the L.A. area, and we want to hear your true story. We pay $400 for a published essay. Email LAAffairs@latimes.com. You can find submission guidelines here. You can find past columns here.

Lifestyle

Sunday Puzzle: Sweet Treat

Published

2 minutes ago

April 12, 2026

Press Room

Sunday Puzzle

NPR

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NPR

This week’s challenge

Every answer today is a flavor of ice cream or sorbet.
What flavor of ice cream …

1. … has a two-word name in which each word starts CH-?

2. … has a two-word name in which each word starts RO-?

3. … is hidden in this sentence: That’s the caravan I’ll announce.

4. … has the string of letters UTTI in its name twice?

5. … has a silent P as its fourth letter?

6. … would spell some men’s facial hair if you changed its first two letters from PI to MU?

7. … consists of the names of two trees starting with M and W?

8. … is a fruit flavor that would become the name of another fruit flavor if you interchanged its first and third letters?

9. … is an anagram of TEENAGER (2 wds.)?

Last week’s challenge

Last week’s challenge came from Michael Schwartz, of Florence, Ore. Think of a musical instrument. Add two letters at the end, and you’ll get the names of two popular automobile models reading left or right. What musical instrument is this?

Answer

Accordion –> (Honda) Accord + (Hyundai) Ioniq

Winner

Nell Newton of Austin, Texas

This week’s challenge

This week’s challenge comes from Benita Rice, of Salem, Ore. Name a famous foreign landmark (5,4). Change the eighth letter to a V and rearrange the result to make an adjective that describes this landmark. What landmark is it?

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, April 16 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.

Lifestyle

Ask Imran Anything: On Boring Fashion, the Meaning of Luxury and Building Outside the System

Published

56 minutes ago

April 12, 2026

Press Room

Ask Imran Anything: On Boring Fashion, the Meaning of Luxury and Building Outside the System

In the second instalment of the BoF Podcast’s Ask Me Anything series, Imran Amed takes on listener questions about creative energy returning to the industry, what luxury really feels like, why independent brands don’t need the old gatekeepers, and how to keep going when the world feels uncertain.

Lifestyle

Trump touts newly released plans for D.C. triumphal arch

Published

12 hours ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

Trump touts newly released plans for D.C. triumphal arch

Artist renderings and diagrams for President Trump’s proposed triumphal arch released by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on April 10, 2026.

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Jon Elswick/AP

President Trump on Friday unveiled official architectural renderings for the triumphal arch he plans to add to the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The proposed monument would stand at one end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge next to the Arlington National Cemetery.

In addition to the president’s post on Truth Social, the plans were released by the Commission on Fine Arts, a federal agency that has review authority over the design and aesthetics of construction within Washington, D.C., and produced by Harrison Design, an architecture, interior and landscape design firm with offices in six U.S. cities, including D.C. The mockup shows a structure very similar to the 3D model that Trump touted at a fundraising dinner at the White House last October.

This model of President Trump’s proposed triumphal arch was shown at a White House press conference on Oct. 15, 2025.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

At 250 feet tall, the overall height of the structure is intended to serve as, “a fitting recognition of America’s 250th birthday,” the White House said in an email to NPR.

A monument aimed at honoring what and whom?

The proposed arch bears a striking resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris — though would stand almost 100 feet taller — and is topped with two golden eagles and a winged, crowned figure reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty (which was gifted to the U.S. by France in 1884.) On one side, the words “One nation under God” appear, with the phrase “Liberty and justice for all” on the other.

The structure would also loom over the nearby Lincoln Memorial — at more than twice the height.

“The Triumphal Arch in Memorial Circle is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world,” said White House spokesperson Davis Ingle in an email to NPR. “It will enhance the visitor experience at Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike, serving as a visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes throughout our 250 year history so we can enjoy our freedoms today. President Trump will continue to honor our veterans and give the greatest Nation on earth — America — the glory it deserves.”

When asked by CBS political correspondent Ed O’Keefe whom the monument was intended to honor after Trump initially unveiled his plans in October, Trump responded: “Me.” The exchange was captured in a social media video.

A group of Vietnam War veterans launched a lawsuit in February seeking to bar the Trump administration from constructing the arch. The plaintiffs argued the project violates statutes requiring express congressional authorization for the erection of commemorative works or any “building or structure” on federal park grounds in D.C., among other issues.

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris as part of the city’s Christmas celebrations (2007).

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Christophe Ena/AP

“It’s textbook Trump,” said Sue Mobley, director of research at Monument Lab, of the proposed plans for the arch, in an interview with NPR. The nonprofit design studio based in Philadelphia reimagines public art and structures. “It has to be the biggest. That’s the authoritarian impulse.” Trump has repeatedly pushed back on accusations of authoritarianism, rejecting the label of dictator.

Mobley added that she doesn’t think the plans will come to fruition. “It will likely get tied up in court,” she said.

Approval process

The White House said it will “follow all legal requirements” in constructing the triumphal arch. As part of that process, it mentioned the National Park Service’s recent request to present potential designs to the Commission on Fine Arts. The plans are scheduled to be reviewed next week. At this point, that commission is composed entirely of members appointed by Trump. (In October 2025, Trump took the unusual step of firing six sitting members of the commission.) The National Capital Planning Commission, the federal government’s central planning agency for the National Capital Region, is also expected to weigh in on the plans.

The White House said the estimated cost of the project, which it anticipates will draw on a combination of public and private funds, is still being calculated. Harrison Design, the architecture firm behind the plans, did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for information about the price tag.

Multiple D.C. makeover projects

The arch plans are the latest in a series of current and potential architectural interventions from the White House in and around Washington, D.C.

Most dramatically, the administration is pushing for the creation of a $400 million neoclassical ballroom at the White House. A federal appeals court on Saturday temporarily allowed the construction of the ballroom to move forward while the administration challenges a March ruling that it required congressional approval. Whatever the outcome, the historic East Wing has already been demolished to make room for the new structure.

Trump has converted the White House Rose Garden into a stone-covered patio. He aims to shut down The Kennedy Center for two years to facilitate a major renovation (a coalition of groups including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Institute of Architects, and the D.C. Preservation League, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in March opposing the plans.) And he has proposed architectural changes to the Washington Dulles International airport through an initiative the Department of Transportation launched late last year to overhaul the Northern Virginia airport. Several prominent architecture firms including Zaha Hadid Architects and Adjaye Associates have submitted proposals.

In August, the president also signed an executive order requiring that new federal buildings with construction budgets of more than $50 million be designed in “classical” or “traditional” styles.

Anastasia Tsioulcas contributed to this story.