New York Summer Streets

Bikers on Park Avenue.

"Summer Streets is an annual celebration of New York City’s most valuable public space—our streets. On three consecutive Saturdays in the summer, nearly seven miles of NYC’s streets are opened for people to play, walk, bike, and breathe... On August 3, 10 & 17, from 7am to 1pm, nearly seven miles of New York City’s streets are opened up for everyone to play, run, walk and bike." Source: NYC.gov

Here are pics from yesterday's lovely walk down Park Avenue from 42nd St. by Grand Central, down to the Flat Iron District in the 20s. Summer Streets goes the full stretch from East 72nd St., all the way downtown at Brooklyn Bridge. Here's the route from the website:

Summer Streets route, including rest stops.

Park Avenue tunnel closed to traffic from 7am to 1pm.

Sharing the streets.

Bikers, rollerbladers (even skateboarders and unicyclers) all welcome!

It looks like they added more Citibikes for rent for this event.

A Gotham-y shot near 23rd St.

Summer Highlights

One of the challenges I find with blogging these days is the "real-time-ness" of posts—chronicling notable and bloggable events on the same day. I'm constantly playing catch-up...or going completely M.I.A., as you can tell with my complete lack of posts for the month of July. Sigh.

But, moving along. I have been meaning to write about season's highlights. I'm a summer girl at heart. Summer is my favorite season, summer is when I feel the most nourished, summer is when I get an ample dose of Vitamin D, and summer is also when I can get dressed in five minutes flat (I'm a matchy-matchy kind of person so you can just imagine the agony of putting together layers in the winter time).

Without further ado, highlights from the last couple of weeks (which, in the blogging world, is eons!):

1) Summer Beauty
Well, it was still technically spring when I purchased these two lip treats from Sephora: Bite Beauty High Pigment Matte Pencil in Pomegranate and YSL Volupté Sheer Candy Glossy Balm Crystal Color in Succulent Pomegranate. The former does say 'matte' but it goes on soft and creamy, leaving a rich hue on lips, while the latter is indeed a colored gel-balm that leaves a nice hint of sheer cherry. YSL's packaging is absolutely adorable and I certainly got it for prettiness.

A couple of weeks back, before it got really hot, I got a tube of Brazilian True Tan to kickstart my summer sun-kissed skin. I'd originally planned on purchasing something from St. Tropez, but, after reading the ingredients and giving it a whiff, I went for the former. Brazilian True Tan's formula is supposedly infused with AHA, so you don't have to exfoliate before applying. The color you get is very subtle, hence the claim "non-streak" on the packaging, because you can build on color, instead of slathering it on in one dark dollop. As with any self-tanner, you still have to watch it when it comes to elbows, ankles, and knees—wipe off any excess on these areas.

Okay, it's the weekend—I'm a beauty copywriter by day so writing about beauty on my day off feels like a bus driver's holiday—so I'm moving on to the next summer highlight...

2) Summer Solstice!

Next to Christmas, this is my favorite time of the year. It is the longest day where we get the most sunlight. Fortunately, my husband spotted the invite in the mail to sign up for the yearly Solstice In Times Square event. It was so surreal doing yoga right there, that I kept on peeking during Savasana to look at the buildings towering above me.

Bright and early!

I believe Vasisthasana (Side Plank) was the peak pose for that morning's session. That's me on the left, in the rainbow pink top. I'm quite proud of my Vasisthasana, simply because I could barely do one only a few years ago. Next stop: the full expression of the pose (yogi toe lock, leg extended at a 45-degree angle).

Fun and surreal doing yoga in Times Square!

3) Hova brought sexy back.

We got to see Jay Z and Justin Timberlake in concert at Yankee Stadium! :) The Legends of Summer tour paired the two music heavyweights, resulting in a concert experience to remember! Happy Summer days indeed.

The Seventeen Tofu Stir-fry

I learned this recipe during my early days working at Seventeen Magazine. One of my former editors, now great friend, Lille Bose, came up with it.

Red pepper flakes, garlic, cilantro, and chili powder create a spicy-savory kick to this dish. I haven’t made it in years…so I forgot that it also called for tomatoes. Luckily, I had leftover canned tomatoes from when I made Puttanesca :)

You’ll need:

• a 14-oz pack of tofu (397 g)
• lots of garlic, roughly chopped (ideally, you get a piece of garlic with every bite)
• red pepper flakes (as much or as little as you want, but do not skip it)
• chili powder
• one large tomato, sliced into bite-size pieces (or more, if you like)
• bunch of cilantro, lightly chopped (this originally called for our native kintsay)
• olive oil and butter
• salt, pepper, and sugar to taste
• lemon juice, optional

Directions:

1. Slice tofu lengthwise so you can brown all sides on a non-stick skillet. Use a tiny bit of oil and butter for this. Once tofu is firm and browned, slice into cubes. (Alternatively, slice tofu into cubes right away and bake in a 350-degree F oven for about 10 minutes or until firm.
   
   Note: Do your best to buy organic tofu. The GMO stuff is creepy.
2. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil and a slice of butter on medium low. Add the red pepper flakes until warmed through, then add garlic.
   
3. When garlic is nearly browned, add tofu. Toss in hot oil and sprinkle with chili powder. Season with salt, pepper, and a little bit of sugar. Squeeze a little lemon juice, if desired.
   
4. Add tomato pieces and sauté to desired softness. Add half of the chopped cilantro. Turn off heat, and add the remaining cilantro and toss.
   
5. Transfer to a bowl and serve with hot rice. Enjoy!

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 12

Yoga Saturday

Flow 1 observation, then Flow 2 “solar/fire + earth” yoga class: My batteries are officially recharged. :) #yoga #energize #stressbuster 

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 9

Veggies!

Gorgeous greens (and reds) at #WholeFoods :) #nofilter

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 9

Minutes with Lola

I just got off the phone with my grandma, who, at 89, is still wit, wisdom, tenacity andpositivity, personified.

A mere five minutes of talking to her yielded these lovely snippets:

1) On her upcoming birthday: “My birthday wish? Reaching this age, what more can I ask for?”

2) On going to the movies: “Yes, you should enjoy, while you don’t have kids.” (Note: She said this in genuine reference to the going-out-together part and not the childbearing part.)

3) On health and rest: “Eat well, so you’ll grow old healthy… You guys should already eat so you can rest and sleep.”

4) On lunch: “I want to eat fried chicken. I hope my caregiver can get even just one piece.” :)

Mariel Jimenez | 30-day Blog Challenge 2013 | Day 8

Yoga Minutes

Almost a month into my yoga teacher training (for the 200-hour certification), I'm happy to see that I'm embodying the lessons—albeit at a slow pace, which should be fine in the yoga world.

 Case in point: Last night, as my husband was getting to bed, in my half-asleep state, I turned to him and said, "Twisting is good for digestion."

"What [are you talking about]?" he said.

"Oh, in yoga. The twists..."

And then off I went back to sleep :)

In class last night, we learned about some seated poses and twists: When you move your torso/upper body/shoulder in one direction, keeping your base grounded, that's supposed to engage your core and build "fire" to help with digestion. It's also not too different from wringing a wet towel to "freshen" it up.