Dressing Appropriately for One's Age

Lately, I've been thinking more and more about age-appropriate dressing. At 33, I'm doing a wardrobe update of sorts, adding more "grown-up" pieces—e.g. shift dresses, collared (sleeveless) buttoned tops, and skirts—infusing the same pops of color and play on prints that I've come to love all these years.

Oddly, I dressed more like a 30-year-old in my twenties and a 20-year-old in my thirties; a teen when I was a tween and a tween when I was a teen!

That said, I'm a lover of clothes (and accessories!). I remember as a child, my mom and I would go on regular visits to the town's seamstress who would make us pretty things that I will brazenly say resemble Resort pieces in a prepster kind of way. Back in the day—which really isn't too far back as this was only the eighties—it wasn't unusual for people to go to a family tailor or seamstress to have clothes made.

Fast forward to 2013, we have Zara, Gap, H&M and a hooplah of ready-to-wear pieces that frankly, do a fine job of translating high fashion to us mere (rent-paying) mortals. I'm just a bit more scrutinizing of fabrics these days, after having read "Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion," a thoroughly researched book by Elizabeth Cline. Check out this New York Times review.

So, back to the age-appropriateness of my wardrobe. I've recently put together a peg that more or less encapsulates my game plan for this age and stage. It's a happy hodgepodge of pages clipped from the March 2013 issue of Vogue that I've been using as a guide for shopping. (Trivia: I'd inadvertently picked out Pantone's "color of the year," emerald green, as seen below on the Eres ad. Who knew?)

Clockwise from top left: structured "corseted jacket" with tortoiseshell-plexiglass belt and breastplate, Alexander McQueen; cutaway top with "fishline detail," Alexander Wang; black tweed top and shorts, Sandro; happy pops of colored enamel, Revlon; model-y looks e.g. silk pants paired with a printed blazer, A-line demi and pencil skirts by Proenza Schouler (the latter look as seen on Victoria's Secret model Miranda Kerr, I totally intended to copy with a recent purchase of a sheer black top and brocade skirt); cute green bra, Eres; scents from Balenciaga and Narciso Rodriguez.

Oh, and yes—my take on age-appropriate dressing? Wear what makes you happy, confident and comfortable! True, I do cringe at the sight of skimpy clothing, especially on mature women and teenagers... or make that, in general. But then that's just me, I may have grown more conservative over the years in terms of that balance between going short here, long there; business in front, party in the back, etc. But, who knows? Maybe one sweltering day I may just bust out a tube top and mini myself!

The Blondness of It All

Because my teens and twenties were marked with drama, upheavals, and crises of different sorts—including spending a big chunk of my teenage years in a household that, while loving and truly well-meaning, tended to be overtly psycho-analytical when the literal and verbatim would have been better for my psyche—now that I'm 33 and finally happy(!), I am more and more inclined to have a sense of humor about life, even if it means taking a simplistic approach to a lot of the "major" things.

I do not mind being the blond in the room.

(By the way, this reference is merely for illustrative purposes only and I have no intention whatsoever to offend or discriminate. However, if you are a blond in real life and are offended by this on some level, you are most welcome to crack an Asian joke and we can call it even. :) And, just so you know, if I weren't as averse to the scalp irritation that peroxide can bring, I'd have long bleached my hair a nice strawberry, gold, or platinum. Heck, I already use Jolen on my brows!)

At this point in my life, there is comfort and wisdom in not knowing and not having to project knowledge. I am completely comfortable in being more of a voyeur, soaking all the information in. Of course, it's a slightly different story and path when it comes to my work and career, where taking a bit more of an authoritative approach better serves the situation and is the wiser move...if I want to keep paying for yoga classes!

Speaking of which, I've just started my 300-hour yoga studies and from the first weekend alone, I have a clearer vision of the kind of yoga teacher I'd like to become. I want to be that teacher who can let students find meaning in the mundane, and pique their curiosity enough to venture out and explore further, and maybe go deeper into their personal paths to enlightenment...or not. If I can tap into the physical and make classes fun and approachable to get people going and moving (and perhaps score FLOTUS points/earn a thumbs up from the First Lady), then I've done my part.

If I can do my best to give anatomically spot-on alignment cues, encourage mindful breathing, and cultivate inspiration—with people leaving the room feeling invigorated and kinder, or experiencing an incredibly relaxing Savasana (one of my teachers refers to a "blissed-out" one and getting people to "la-la land"), then I've really done a marvelous job and I would simply be grateful for having had something or anything to do with it.

The rest is then up to the students, each of whom, by virtue of being a living and breathing inhabitant of this planet, I assume is innately smart.

When Kids Speak

Because kids tend to speak their minds in the most unfiltered way, what they end up saying is on-point and more often than not, incredibly hilarious—even if at times, morbid. It reminded me of an older post from when one of my nieces was seven and she said something about flies sucking blood from your eyes. :)

I had the pleasure of spending Easter weekend with not one, not two, but three adorable children from my family. Each had something to say at one point that cracked me up.

Nine-year-old boy cousin from Manila who looves mac-n-cheese to my 10-year-old brother, who is American who doesn't really care for the dish:

"You know if you don't like mac-n-cheese and want to try it, go to Italianni's*."

*Italiannis is a resto from back home where my cousin apparently orders two of these. He was also was also very amusing/entertaining with his use of the word "dude."

Seven-year-old cousin to me, while walking into Toys 'r' Us:
"There is a skeleton puppet that says, 'I kill you!'"

According to my quick Google search, she was most likely referring to Achmed the Dead Terrorist. Note, this little girl is incredibly smart. I could barely figure out the game she had on her iPad called Doors & Rooms.

And last but not the least, my little brother:
Me: "How old am I?"
Bro: "33."
Me: "Good, you know, wow. You're 10, right?"
Bro: "Yes. And you're the oldest. When my friends and I talk about siblings, they either have a younger brother or sister; or an older one who is a teenager, and you're the oldest." :)

[Photo: Gorgeous day at the Intrepid Museum.]

Spring Equinox

It seems as if I completed this year's 30-day Blog Challenge and then took off and abandoned blogging altogether. But between my last post—a month ago!—and today, I had quite a lot on my plate...literally and figuratively.

Most notable was our Sonoma-Napa-Cali trip for our third wedding anniversary. It was awesome; the food, wine, and sights were all spectacular!

Because work keeps me busy these days, evenings and weekends have become even more precious—my much-needed time to rest, recharge, and recuperate. I love what I do—it's amazing and unbelievable to see the amount of work that goes into products!—yet I am also keen on maintaining my work-life balance. Hence, there's yoga. And God :)

Spring Equinox, is when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator. A second equinox also occurs in the Fall, in September (Wikipedia). Simply put, today is the first day of springtime! So, Happy Spring, friends! Until my next post :)

*This photo was taken earlier at work right outside my office building. I looked up the gazebo/open dome and saw this magnificent view; I just had to take a pic!

Valrhona Fudge Cakes

Finally got to blog about these at All My Sugar :) Click on the link for the recipe!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This sweet vanilla cupcake topped with a rich, creamy swirl of Valrhona chocolate butter frosting will make your heart swoon and make you fall in love with life itself!

For this, I referenced the recipe in my "Cupcakes a la NYC" post (also at Allmysugar.com). They're inspired by Magnolia Bakery's vanilla-chocolate cupcakes, or even Eleni's—both in New York.

Because I forgot to get some at the grocery earlier, I substituted the melted unsweetened chocolate originally called for with the Valrhona cocoa powder I already had in the pantry. Unfortunately, I didn't measure it out and just kept adding cocoa by the spoonfuls to the frosting, until it tasted just about right. I'd say about five tablespoons, but let your tastebuds be the judge :)

Have a sweet Valentine's Day! With love from NYC :)

Mushroom Stroganoff

Nice and easy: Mushroom Stroganoff recipe by Alton Brown.

Link to recipe: Foodnetwork.com

I just made this and so far, it turned out yummy. I used regular onions instead of the green onions originally called for. Also, I halved the recipe—give or take a few ounces of certain ingredients (i.e. mushrooms, egg noodles).

Two suggested tweaks:

• Add red pepper flakes when heating up the butter (also in the bowl, when serving)
• Add thyme while sautéing the mushrooms

And this completes the 30-day Blog Challenge, woohoo!

Will share my thoughts on this year’s Challenge in another post :)

Happy weekend, everyone!


Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 30

Malt Ball Overload

At Dylan's Candy Bar :) 

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 29

Harper’s BAZAAR, we meet again :)

The Moroccanoil print ad I wrote is in the March 2013 issues of Harper's BAZAAR (where I worked in international marketing when I had just moved to NYC), Elle, InStyle and the gigantic Vogue with Beyoncé on the cover!

The universe has a sense of humor—I've always wanted to write for magazines here in the U.S., picking up from where I left off as beauty editor at Hearst international titles Seventeen and Cosmopolitan. I've also contributed to sister publications Good Housekeeping and Marie Claire. So, now, my words are actually in these well-respected magazines, at least in the advertising section.

Now, if only I could make the jump back into the editorial pages, that would be FANTABULOUS! :)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 28

Bravo, Dyson. Bravo!

View the complete hand dryer range at Dyson.com :)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 27

Yoga Journal

Tuesday night reading; channeling peace, kindness, and relaxation: #yogajournal #magazine (free, w/ my teaching liability insurance!) 

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 26

“You can’t please everyone—but you can be democratic by being kind to everyone.” 

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 25