personal

wardrobe planning? winter’s checklist

            When you’re having a good hair day, take a picture. When you’re having a decent outfit day, take a picture. When you’re wearing a new pair of shoes, like I’ve mentioned before, take a picture.

            One of my favorite writers once said that she remembers events through outfits. I cherished that quote, not because of the honesty but rather the mere bliss of having that certainty that there’s an outfit ready to go without spending valuable minutes pondering of its level of functionality and/or avant-gardeness. That level of confidence of the quantity of your wardrobe brings about a certain level of satisfaction that only a handful are able to fulfill. Which reminds me that the long grey days of the winter season are up ahead that means I need to replenish my winter wardrobe asap, but this time I’m not going shopping without a preplanned list of the items that I want and need. 

            One of the first items that is officially off of my shopping list is a multi-functional pair of black sneakers that will last me through the season. Although these Nike black high stop air forces need comfortable matching pairs of solid black high-rise socks to match because if not, my ankles will be spotted with unwelcomed blisters. Next up, a pair of leggings that are more than multifunctional but rather multi-faceted with the serviceability of “around-the-house” use but paired with a great over-sized blazer or jacket, can then become “internship-ready”. I had found my favorite pair in Zara and will probably go back to source some interesting pair of bottoms. The next item on my list is to find the best quality basic selection of plain colored t-shirts for my budget. Needless to say, basic or essential, solid colored plain tee’s are not hard to find in the market, but these days quality is and then factoring the one chance that I can choose from a brand or garment that is sustainable is something important. Lastly, the most widely used item in my closet will be the cardigans, blazers, or jackets. My plan is to purchase no more sweaters for the season because sweaters are for squares lol just kidding. Sweaters are an essential part of one’s winter wardrobe, how else will you say to the world that you didn’t want to leave your comforter that morning lol. 

            Wardrobe planning is a balance, like everything done in life, but a carefully planned wardrobe list can yield that much more satisfaction and hopefully end the outfit decision fatigue. If you haven’t felt it, it’s that feeling of prepping before an interview when you’re asking yourself if I have something to present myself with. Although the combinations of outfit ideas are set determined by the business staples and casualwear is whatever is available in your wardrobe, the choices are influenced by your feelings. Therefore, if you feel like you look presentable or good, then you’ll go the extra mile to do more. 

Please, don’t stare at my stats

It’s interesting how psychologists and mental health gurus preach about not placing value on the number of likes or views on social media, but if academic success is based on a number. Is it not the same thing? Both could be argued are irrelevant to each other, yet both have an underlying concept; that personal value or worth is derived from a number. personality and charisma contribute as well, but what makes you shine or stand out from the rest are the stats or specific quality so refined that can be measured by some metric. sports are all about analytics and major trading franchise decisions are based on those numbers and in one of my classes titled industrial psychology, the professor had a whole lesson on resumes and cover letters. It was surprising to hear that most hiring decisions are again based on the number of points that a resume generates by decision maker and just recently, my mother-in-law, had expressed to me that she needed to review resumes for a new hire and she based the applicants worthiness by the number of points she gave the resume… it went full circle and told myself isn’t that interesting. If even resumes get graded by number of points, what isn’t measured by a number? And is it possible to grow in a career without tracking success through numbers?

I understand that not everything is based the numbers, but why do we spend most of our lives working to achieve those targets. In the United States and in other countries in South America, for many of us, unless some unusual circumstance, we’ve gone through the twelve plus years in school and have only ascended to the next level because we achieved the requirements that was measured by specific target numbers. I am starting to believe that it’s not wrong or a negative to compare a skill or success by a number, but it’s odd to me how there are mixed messages about the topic. It’s important for people to focus on other traits like those involved with, I don’t know, behind human, understand how to show respect and how to act when you are getting respect, being nice to whomever you happen to interact with and not just because they might be an important person, but because it’s the right thing to do, even if you don’t feel like it.

In some ways, measuring stats is an easy identifiable way to get an overall view of skills or achievements and makes those great achievements that much more recognizable to someone who may not know you yet. Besides this logic, since I started my bachelor’s degree, I’ve challenged myself to be ultra-ambitious. I’ve placed this pressure on myself to achieve all A’s in all of my classes. I’m stepping up to the challenge of aiming for all As, cause truth be told, I’ve never been that student or that studious to be worth As. I’ve got to admit that has always been a contributor to me believing I couldn’t amount to anything. Deep down, I know it wasn’t true, but my confidence would dictate something else. perhaps this is the reason why I do correlate success with numbers because for so long, seeing my status and lack of academic achievements, I would get partially depressed over them and it would make me feel insecure about my future.

It’s definitely a debatable topic, but what do you think? do you believe we are valued by our stats? if we shouldn’t care about the number, why are we constantly evaluated with numbers? do our paychecks resemble those numbers? what do you think?

Golden brush strokes

As my family was walking home after visiting our local Salvation Army, we stumbled on a pretty simple wall. It was simple, at least, compared to the other abstract and intricate street art walls surrounding this simple one. The wall was painted black with different brush strokes scattered over the black paint. In the center, what I’m assuming, was the artist’s graffiti signature drawn in a goldish brown hue. It was extravagantly minimalistic but with a pop because of the contrasting colors. It caught my attention from afar and drew me closer to observe the work, very much like an art gallery. I liked that it wasn’t overly conceptualized but neither was it a “wall flower”. The work had a balance while adding balance to the collection of street art surrounding it.

Naturally, I felt it would make an interesting backdrop. I didn’t notice the artists credentials or maybe I just overlooked it. But if you ever find yourself in Brooklyn, take the J train to Brooklyn and get off on a stop called Myrtle ave. Walk a few blocks south and you’ll spot it by making a left in the corner of the Papa Johns pizzeria.

I know I should have taken a picture of the street art by itself. I apologize. I only hope that it won’t distract you from being inspired by my very casual outfit of the day. My rain coat is from Nike. The black fleece pullover, a gift from a family member who traveled to Colombia. The black leggings from Pink by Victoria secret (although a size too big on my petite frame). The navy blue faux leather sack bag was thrifted from a Salvation Army across town. It’s been my favorite go to bag and it’s in great condition. I only wish I knew the brand. Yet again, do I really want to know? Lol

A white t-shirt and trousers

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A plain white t shirt is an essential basic top in my closet. It’s like a blank canvas and (mostly) everything in my closet compliments well with it. For this look I was inspired by fashionista I stumbled on in Instagram. I paired my white t-shirt with a pair of thrifted straight leg palazo trousers, which are slightly to long and oversized for my frame. What’s interesting about The trousers is that they are made out of silk with a chevron kind of print. Silk trousers? That was new, so felt like they needed to come home with me.

I intended to wear the trousers for casual days but Ive been told that it actually makes me look very formal. When I looked in the mirror that’s not what I saw and I kept wondering as to why would these trousers would look formal. Could it be the permanent crease in the front? I couldn’t answer that question, until I saw myself in them through pictures. Now I knew why my husband kept referring to them as my business casual pants. I might wear them with kitty heals next time lol

Easy Makeup of the Day x A Not So Helpful Guide lol

Honestly, when I feel like crap 💩 I like to do my makeup. Whenever I’m feeling so overwhelmed with different tasks, to do lists, and the on going little details of managing motherhood, I try my best to take a few moments to touch up my a face. Even with just a little bit on, my mood instantly changes from indifferent to motivated and focused. Managing motherhood feels like a challenge every day because you’ve got to learn to balance your own personal needs and the very cautious efforts of parenting and those minutes of just “me time” can make the difference. This feeling is something completely new to me and I only started to really embrace it after I gave birth. This just makes me wonder how much different my attitude about my daily activities would have been if I’d started this routine earlier in life? Why hadn’t another women ever mentioned this and how come its not more commonly mentioned? I don’t feel selfish by taking that little bit of time to just focus on me and sometimes I feel like thats the only time I can get a few minutes with my own thoughts.

I’ve been steadily getting better at doing my own makeup by trying different things or a new technique every time I take up the challenge to apply it. For this look I put a little bit of eyeshadow along with a cate eye wing (which is something I’ve never tried doing cause eyeshadow kind of intimates me). From what I’ve noticed, a light hand is key as your applying it because it can easily start looking like a mess.

Here is a step by step of what I did & please, feel free to chuckle at the subtle humor of the commentary lol:

1-foundation

Step one: covering up my reptilian skin lol

2-concealer

Step two: using this awfully bad compact makeup as a under eye concealer because I needed to use it one last time so I won’t feel so guilty for throwing it out and wasting money on it.

3-powder

Step three: blended well… from this distance you can’t notice the bumpy skin. i think i did a job well done. Now its time to set it with some powder to minimize my oily skin build up. hooray

4-eyeshadow

Step four: some eyeshadow because i hardly wear it and these are subtle enough for others to not notice how mediocre i actually am with makeup.

5-eyemakeup

Step five: if i were in a stranded island, i would put a note inside a bottle asking for whoever reads the note to send me mascara and eyeliner… and some sunscreen cause no one wants to age prematurely6-liplinerStep six: a lip liner to overline my lips and as a lipstick cause my lips can make a desert look moist and plump

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Voila mistro… not bad.

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and another selfie to reenforce how naturally untalented I’m with makeup and girl,  let me just say that if you know how to work your angles, no one will even notice lmfao!

Thanks so much for reading along and maybe even getting a little inspired by this faux easy makeup tutorial cause a girl tried her best! show some love on the comments and I hope you all have a blessed day.

Lavender Floral Linen Maxi Dress #OOTD Inspo x Kodak Moments at the Park

Honestly, I wasn’t going to share these pictures because I’m very hesitate to put my daughter out on the internet… I get a little scared, for creeps or something or another. She’s the biggest, toughest and most influential person in my life currently, so why would I not show off what I love the most and spend most of my time around? so I just told myself “why the heck not post it!” especially since Mothers Day is right around the corner so this post fits right in with the timing lol (plus, I took all the pictures myself which took a lot of work to manage all the different hats to get the best kodak, candid shots I can manage while multitasking) 

I fall in love if the item inspires me or takes me by surprise with en eye catching print or fabrication. I’ll take it home even if it fits a little weird on my body shape. I felt really lucky to find this beautiful maxi linen lavender floral dress at a thrift shop. I’ve been thrifting a lot more then usual and I really love it because it sparks my imagination with all the different variety of choices and affordable price tags! I like to take my time and evaluate everything just because it is second hand after all and some items need to be investigated before a final choice is made.

I enjoy how fitted this dress is but I’m not a fan of how maxi it is (although I did at first). The buttons are starting to give me a problem by popping off every time I squat, which is super annoying! I might trim it to make it into a cute mid thigh length dress for the summer because it just feels like too much dress for such a small petite frame like mines.

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Honestamente, no iba a compartir estas imágenes porque tengo muchas dudas de poner a mi hija en Internet … Me da un poco de miedo, por horripilantes o algo así. Actualmente es la persona más grande, más dura e influyente de mi vida, ¿por qué no mostrar lo que más amo y pasar la mayor parte del tiempo? así que me dije “¿por qué diablos no lo publicaste?” especialmente porque el Día de la Madre está a la vuelta de la esquina, así que este artículo encaja perfectamente con el tiempo (más, tomé todas las fotos yo mismo, lo que requirió mucho trabajo para manejar todos los sombreros y obtener el mejor kodak, tomas francas administrar mientras se realiza una multitarea)

Me enamoro si el elemento me inspira o me toma por sorpresa con una impresión o fabricación llamativa. Me lo llevaré a casa, incluso si se ajusta un poco a la forma de mi cuerpo. Me sentí muy afortunado de encontrar este hermoso vestido de flores maxi lino lavanda en una tienda de segunda mano. He estado trabajando mucho más de lo habitual y realmente me encanta porque despierta mi imaginación con todas las diferentes variedades de opciones y precios asequibles. Me gusta tomarme mi tiempo y evaluar todo solo porque es de segunda mano y es necesario investigar algunos elementos antes de tomar una decisión final.

Me gusta lo ajustado que es este vestido, pero no soy fanático de lo maxi que es (aunque lo hice al principio). Los botones están comenzando a darme un problema al estallar cada vez que me pongo en cuclillas, ¡lo cual es súper molesto! Podría recortarlo para convertirlo en un lindo vestido a la mitad del muslo para el verano, ya que se siente como demasiado vestido para un marco pequeño y pequeño como las minas.

 

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a flower crown for baby girl

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ugh, she’s learning how to walk

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a loose button for ventilation lol

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Book of The Month x L’art de la Simplicite by Dominique Loreau x Lifestyle Changes

For this month I’m picking something that’ll teach me about a new lifestyle attitude. This new lifestyle change is guided by L’Art De La Simplicite: How to Live More with Less by Dominique Loreau.

I found this book while searching the aisles of the public library and once I noticed the title, I wanted to take it home right away. I didn’t believe books about minimalist living were even written so I got really excited once I saw the book. Lately, I’ve been in the mood to change my beliefs and attitudes about my current lifestyle. I understand that its not going to happen overnight but I just want to know more about what it would feel like to become a person who desires less compared to excess. Plus, I loved the cover and how cute yet simple the font and overall look was.

From reading this book, I want to learn how to stop wanting more things that aren’t going to make a huge impact in my future and embrace living with less. Its hard to manage not wanting to have the most latest thing or having something for a sake of convenience simply because you can afford it. Since becoming a mom, I’ve had to let go of my full time job and find something part time which drastically cut what I was used to spending. Now that I have to adjust for bill payments, eating healthy, saving and the needs of a growing baby takes a toll financially. I know that this time and these moments will pass and eventually my small family will be in a different position in the future because we have a lot of faith in the actions were taking now, but I’ve got to stay in check, daily, so all the bills are paid for on time. So I want to understand the tricks or attitudes that would place one to desire less and place that energy towards things will matter in the long run! Do you know what I mean?

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#OOTD Knit Midi Black Dress & Vintage Yankees Cap x Body Positivity

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where to start?….

I’m in a plateau in my fitness journey and I think it has to do with the way I’ve been eating. Although I’ve been trying to be very careful with what types of foods I eat, I’m now realizing that it is not enough to truly change the numbers on the scale. But I am happy to say that my weight is finally starting to hover around the number that I was pre-preganancy. For the short period of time that I’ve been a mother, I’ve been going easy with myself by being conscious to not say negative things to myself about my body or how awkward my belly looks hanging over my c-section scar.

I finally got the courage to test my confidence and put on this fitted midi length Forever 21 knit black dress with a scoop neckline and short sleeves that I randomly found as I was sorting through the racks inside a messy Forever 21 store on 34th street in Manhattan. It was the last one that I could see around and sadly, it had some damages but I didn’t care. I was so in love with the silhouette and especially with the versatility of having it closed all the way or leaving room for ventilation lol that I bought it with a little damage discount to knock off some dollas off of the original price. I took it home and it fit right in with the rest of my pieces, an easy comfy dress to mix and match with other pieces effortlessly.

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¿donde empezar?….

Estoy en una meseta en mi viaje de entrenamiento y creo que tiene que ver con la forma en que he estado comiendo. Aunque he estado tratando de ser muy cuidadoso con los tipos de alimentos que como, ahora me estoy dando cuenta de que no es suficiente para cambiar realmente los números en la báscula. Pero estoy feliz de decir que mi peso finalmente está comenzando a rondar el número que era antes de la preganancia. Durante el corto período de tiempo que he sido madre, me he vuelto tranquilo al ser consciente de no decirme cosas negativas acerca de mi cuerpo o de lo incómodo que se ve mi barriga sobre mi cicatriz de cesárea.

Finalmente, tuve el coraje de poner a prueba mi confianza y ponerme este vestido midi 21 color negro Forever equipado con cuello redondo y mangas cortas que encontré al azar mientras clasificaba los estantes dentro de una desordenada tienda Forever 21 en la calle 34 en Manhattan . Fue el último que pude ver y, lamentablemente, tuvo algunos daños, pero no me importó. Estaba tan enamorado de la silueta y especialmente con la versatilidad de tenerla cerrada todo el tiempo o dejar espacio para la ventilación jajaja que compré con un pequeño descuento de descuento para quitar algunas dollas del precio original. Me lo llevé a casa y encaja perfectamente con el resto de mis piezas, un vestido cómodo y fácil de combinar y combinar con otras piezas sin esfuerzo.

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Authenticity & it’s four Attributes

During the first day of my internship training, there was a girl in my group who made it her mission to point out to me how “fake” she thought I was. She didn’t say it to me privately, instead, she timed it so everyone else in the group would hear her opinion of me by saying it out loud during one of our quick 10 minute breaks. The girl was not a stranger to me because we had started the same internship program from the very beginning. Her sudden hostility towards me was strange, super random and I was left confused for the remainder of that training day. I had no idea what I could have done to cause her to say that and I couldn’t recall ever being out of line or disrespectful towards her. In order to hide my embarrassment and try to be polite, I let out a nervous laugh because I was trying to brushed it off as if she were telling me an insider joke.

Thinking back to that moment, I was so naive to social cues and didn’t realize when someone was being out of line towards me. I let her continually name call me, although it really upset me yet I didn’t comment back or bother to ask her why she was doing it. Honestly, I thought that I was being the “bigger person” and tried to not let it show that it was affecting me! Needless to say, I kept a fair distance from her and would try to avoid situations where I had to have a conversation other then work. Part of me couldn’t tell the difference between a joke or if it was a direct personal attack and not knowing the difference made me feel insecure, especially when I was around her.

So before I get to my point, I want to share another more recent story of a male coworker who consistently had a snarky comeback whenever I would attempt a causal work conversation. His attitude and mannerisms towards me would feel boorish, meanwhile other coworkers would have nothing but praise for his helpfulness and goodness. I took his animosity personally because it felt like it was gradually getting more indifferent and hostile. Being around him was like walking on eggshells and I would purposely stay clear of his path (although it was really difficult because we all had to work in a tiny office). I wouldn’t ask him for anything or bother with advice and I dreaded being left alone with him whenever the other coworkers left the office during lunch breaks or for any other reason.

One work day I had decided that I had had enough of his toxic attitude and dished it right back to him, exactly how he would towards me. When I looked at his face, his eyes were a little wide and he had a bit of a smirk. He then said, “finally, she speaks for herself.” In that moment, I didn’t know what exactly he meant but after that one comeback, he started being friendlier. Shooting for conversations rather then building negative tension. It seemed like suddenly, this male co worker wanted to have a decent working relationship… go fucken figure.

What I failed to realize was that, ultimately, it didn’t matter what these people said or even how they behaved towards me. What was important was how I responded and handled those different personalities and how much I would let them affect me or influence me personally. If I would have been self-aware, I would have been able to pick up on those subtle shady cues a lot quicker rather then letting my personal feelings decipher what every interaction meant. Here are a list of a few traits I wish I would have learned earlier in life, a set of traits that wouldn’t have allowed for these scenarios to play out the way that they did.

1. self awareness

to have self-awareness is an advantage over those who do not have it or don’t even know what it means in the long term (ei. me). I believe that self awareness is a skill because it means that you understand and trust yourself without a doubt and can’t be easily swayed or influenced. Its a skill build on balancing confidence and vulnerability together although each trait can cancel each other out. It may sound easy, but this is a mindset that is difficult to master because your exposing yourself to the world around you and therefore potentially having others judge you harshly.

2. boldness

boldness is having the ability to be forward and intentional with whomever it may be about whatever you personally believe in. Sharing with them your specific interest without fearing that you won’t be accepted somehow because others might not agree with you. I feel like deep down we all want to get some kind of approval from those around us and maybe even more from people who may not even know us directly.

3. honesty

honesty, the key ingredient for authenticity because it flourishes when you stop lying about who you are and about who your pretending to become. There is nothing wrong about having aspirations of a future better you. But by humbling yourself to see where you are at that moment, where you are mentally and physically, starts the process of self reflection. A quick google search defines self reflection as meditation or serious thought about ones character, actions and motives. From my personal experiences, self reflection is one of the greatest gifts you can give your future self by taking a little bit of time to think about you. I know it sounds selfish but if your rebuilding, the first thing every good home needs is a solid foundation.

4. trust

by learning to trust your actions, your choices become more deliberate and thats helpful because there is no way for sure to know what the opportunity costs are of every option available since time and resources are always limited. Trust can go hand in hand with intuition or that “gut feeling” that we all experience from time to time. Figuring out a way to let go of the expectations from others around us jumpstarts the ways in which we learn to depend on ourself and ultimately trust oneself.

I feel like in our society, being talented isn’t enough anymore but whats important and valuable is being authentic because it allows others to connect with you on a personal level other than the work you produce. By connecting with you, it means they might like you and want to continue supporting you by watching your instagram stories or sharing your tweets. It all kind of comes full circle and with all the different options of connecting with people, your personality will be the dividing force between your work and everybody else.

Looking back, I would have responded differently…

Darphin Revitalizing Oil x Honest Review

The dreaded day finally came when my new favorite Darphin Revitalizing Oil for Face, Hair and Body officially ran out…. #boohoo

I’ve been using the Darphin Revitalizing Oil throughout the year, more so during the fall and winter season because thats when my skin is prone to get extremely dry rather than the summer. I would wear this alone, as a replacement for a face moisturizer in the mornings since the texture of the oil wasn’t so thick and sticky.

The bottle is so cute because it is a small bottle with a gold-ish color tone which made my bathroom shelves look so luxurious and majestic as I lined it up with my other cute fragrance bottles. But the bottle alone wasn’t what attracted me, the oil itself felt lavish on the surface of skin as I would apply it after my morning routine, during the evening and on those occasions where I slept until the afternoon. It added a little bit of a shinny glow dew on the high points of my cheeks but not in a sweaty, out of the gym, kind of way. It smelled amazingly good, not fruity but neither did it have a powerful obnoxious fragrance scent and that made it much more pleasant to apply it frequently. It didn’t absorb into my skin too quickly which I’m not complaining about because from time to time when I would catch my reflection in the mirror, I noticed that beautiful highlight as the daylight caught the oil. I honestly could go on forever talking about the Darphin Revitalizing oil because it really made me feel guilt free about spoiling myself by taking extra care of my skin in one of the best ways available!

Since it is labeled as a multipurpose oil, when I looked up some of the benefits of this particular one, one recommendation was to apply it “generously” across stretch marks. Instantly, I became excited for the healing possibilities and all the ways the oil could aid in fading my tiger stripes. But once I gave it a go, quickly I realized that it wouldn’t be sustainable because the bottle only holds 50ml and it won’t be enough to cover a large area covered with stretch marks. Even if I did try, I’d probably run out before I started to notice any improvements. I would gladly go around smelling like the oil’s rich and beautiful aroma but for the price of 80$ for only 1.7 fluid ounces (50mL), its definitely a little luxury and splurge. The oils main purpose is to protect the skin against future moisture loss while leaving the skin silky and nourished. It also helps to prevent hair breakage and restoring brilliance by adding a luxurious healthy shine if its applied to the hair.

 

Thanks for checking out my post and please let me know if you’ve personally tried this product before. Until next time!