2014, In Closing

The last few months of 2014 were a busy blur, which unfortunately resulted in my blogging activities falling to the wayside…when it should be the opposite, right? I should be blogging more when A LOT is going on. Oh well. 🙂

The biggest shift and time-consuming—albeit well-loved—in my schedule has been teaching two yoga classes a week at Zen & Yoga, a lovely little studio in Forest Hills, and I’m loving it!

As we begin the new year, I just wanted to revisit highlights from the remainder of 2014. So, here goes…

1) I was the White Queen for Halloween.

We literally live around the corner from MoMA PS1—the public-school-turned-museum in Long Island City. For their Halloween Ball, HalloQueens!, the husband and I simply walked over. It was my friend Drue who put the event on my radar: I had no plans to go to any parties, homely person that is me, but the evening before Halloween, he and I were texting and since it was nearby I said, sure. I found a wig last minute at one of the pop-up stores in midtown, got this cream sweater from H&M, and wore it over a Uniqlo Heat-tech shirt, leggings, and a long skirt—more like an outfit than a costume. 🙂

Anyhow, it occurred to me to do the Red Queen, but that was too elaborate. I did see someone on the train who was dressed as her and she looked so cool.

2) Taylor Swift’s 1989 album dropped.

On October 27, to be exact. And is now 2014’s biggest selling album. This technically has nothing to do with me save for the fact that I purchased the album that weekend because not only is it a pretty good record (Frou-Frou’s Imogen Heap co-wrote the song, Clean), I wanted to be among the 1.287 million who bought it the first week. I am shallow/pretentious that way.

I can’t thank you enough for making 1989 the best selling album of 2014. NOW LETS GO CELEBRATE! See you on ABC @OfficialNYRE tonight!

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) December 31, 2014

3) I have a new yoga teaching gig! I’ve been on the teacher sub-list at Sonic Yoga (where I did my teacher training and where I currently practice and assist) on 51st and Ninth Ave for about a year now, and last October, I joined the roster of instructors at Zen & Yoga in Forest Hills, Queens. I now teach the Wednesday evening and Saturday morning All Level vinyasa yoga classes there. Do drop by the website for the full schedule! The husband recently attended class and his IG photo caption is one of the best compliments I’ve ever received from him!

First time attending her class. Wow. Who are you and what did you do to my wife?   A photo posted by Alvin Jimenez (@albertvincentj) on Nov 11, 2014 at 8:57am PST

And speaking of yoga, I was already off from work by December 20th, and what I thought would be days spent lounging at home watching TV catching up on Ellen and The Wendy Williams Show (love her!) turned out to be a  JOYOUS blur of teaching AND taking yoga classes!

 

A photo posted by Mariel Jimenez (@nyminutenow) on Nov 11, 2014 at 7:40pm PST

4) Husband and I turned 35!

He in November, and I, in December. He’s the social butterfly in our relationship (I’m the homely quirky yoga person) so he had not one, not two, but four birthday bashes. Okay, the third one was our date in ABC Kitchen (pictured above). 🙂 No, seriously, he is a beautiful man inside and out, kind, strong, and cool, people are drawn to him (to quote TS’s Welcome To New York—”boys and boys and girls and girls”).

Alvin and his colleagues celebrated his birthday in the office with caramel cake (homemade by moi), then headed to an Irish pub after work for Happy Hour—so I thought—until I arrived (with two coworkers in tow!) to what turned out to be a sit-down dinner that included his two bosses and some team members from out of town. Oh well. 😀 That Friday, we had a nice get-together with friends at Barn Joo, a Korean-inspired gastropub that serves farm-to-table fare and to put it simply, really delicious food. Best calamari I’ve tried so far. And the Serrano Pepper Margarita? Ridiculously good.

Meanwhile, I had my birthday dinner with family at Carmine’s on the Upper West Side. 🙂 Taught a Flow 2 class that evening at Sonic Yoga, which was fun. It’s fun to teach on your birthday!

5) Met Spandau Ballet

If you were a child/tween/teen/young adult in the eighties, the intro riff of Spandau Ballet’s True is both sentimental and sweet. It’s the sound that takes you straight to a John Hughes movie, or, if the nineties are more of your jam, The Wedding Singer.

The UK group, comprised of childhood pals (two of which are siblings) Tony Hadley, Gary Kemp, Steve Norman, John Keeble, and Martin Kemp, was one of the biggest acts in that era. After a steady stream of hits—Gold being one of them—and a long falling out, the band reconnected and we folks can now watch the full arc of their touching story unveil via their documentary, “Soul Boys of the Western World,” now playing in various festivals. We caught the flick during the DOC NYC festival and the coolest, most awesome part was the whole group showing up for a Q&A right after the screening!!!

By the way, Spandau Ballet is back in New York this February for a concert at the Beacon Theater and guess who already has tickets?:)

 — Live Q&A with band post-movie screening!

Okay, there’s actually plenty more, but I’ll end the post here because it’s ABOUT TIME to upload it. 🙂

May 2015 bring joy, abundance, AND many blog posts and yoga classes!

♥
Mariel