Crystal Kung Minkoff’s Black Star Print Leggings Playing Croquet

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 11 Episode 11 Fashion

Judging from the previews Crystal Kung Minkoff became quite the star of croquet and I think her outfit did too. She wore star print leggings and some very cool laceless sneakers. I love a good athleisure look especially when it’s black on black. This is totally what I would have been wearing for an outdoor activity such as croquet. Though I also don’t know the first thing about it, I do know Style Stealers of these leggings are a must.

Sincerely Stylish,

Jess

Click Here to See Her Beyond Yoga Star Print Leggings

Click Here to Shop Her APL Sneakers

Originally posted at: Crystal Kung Minkoff’s Black Star Print Leggnigs

Meredith Marks’ Blue Crochet Cover Up on Instagram

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City 2021 Instagram Fashion

Meredith Marks probably has all of us feeling blue that we aren’t currently vacationing in St. Tropez. But we don’t have to feel blue when it comes to getting a blue crochet cover up just like hers. Though we aren’t for sure that the one linked below is Meredith’s, it at least can be yours because it’s fully stocked and verrry affordable!

Sincerely Stylish,

Jess

Click Here to Shop an Identical Cover Up

*We couldn’t confirm where she got it but based on reader review photos this looks identical (she could have bought it private labeled elsewhere) *

Photo: @meredithmarks

Originally posted at: Meredith Marks’ Blue Crochet Cover Up

Lockdown has afforded all of us an opportunity to reflect on who we are, what our priorities are, and what we’d like to change in our lives. I have some good friends here in London, for example, who just got married after being together for 32 years and raising two grown sons.

When I asked them why they’d finally decided to tie the knot, one of them responded, “We had such a good time together during lockdown! And I wanted to celebrate that.”

Other people have taken the opportunity to quit their jobs and embark on new careers. Or to embrace the “life’s too short” mantra and retired early.

Me? I had a different lockdown-induced change of heart. I found myself craving a reconnection with a phase of life I’d lost touch with: the years in my 20s when I lived, worked and studied in Latin America. And so, I set about forging a new connection to that particular era – and to myself within it.

The Music

There’s nothing quite like music to reconnect you with your past. Music gets you to think in concrete terms about what different phases of your life meant to you and why. And in doing that, you get a better handle on your present self – what you like about yourself, what you might wish to flee, what you miss about yourself, what you’d like to see more of in the years ahead.

I’ve always loved Cuban folk music ever since I lived in Central America for a year in the late 1980s, listening to the likes of Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés, two giants of the Nueva Trova movement. But I returned to that music with a vengeance during lockdown.

Now, in addition to podcasts, I’ve been listening to Cuban folk music as I “walk without purpose” around my neighborhood and discover new nooks and crannies.

The Literature

I’ve also started re-reading some of the giants of Latin American literature. I read Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece, 100 Years of Solitude, back in the day. But one day when I was wandering through my neighborhood, I saw that someone had put a copy of this book out on the kerb along with a bunch of others, inviting strangers to grab one and take it home. (BTW? Love this idea and intend to reciprocate during my next major declutter.) 

Then I attended a virtual memorial service for one of my college professors, someone who mentored me and encouraged me to pursue an academic career. He was a scholar of Afro-Brazilian relations, and his service was filled with friends, family, students and colleagues from Ghana (his home country), Brazil, and all over the world.

As his former students began to recount in the chat bar how they’d first gotten to know him and the imprint he’d left on their lives, I remembered that he had introduced me to the work of Jorge Amado. Amado was a novelist whose stories of life in the eastern Brazilian state of Bahia won international acclaim.

He was a social realist, who celebrated the rich cultural traditions of Afro-Brazilian religion and music which characterize Bahia and its capital, Salvador. Although I must have read a dozen of Amado’s works 30 odd years ago, I was suddenly consumed with an overwhelming desire to re-immerse myself in their depiction of Brazil’s immense cultural diversity.

The People

I’m in very close touch with a number of friends in Latin America, and visited one of them in Argentina not long ago. But in recent months, as I’ve reached out to all manner of people from my distant past, I began to include some Latin friends I’d lost touch with as well.

I focused on a group of friends from Chile, where I’d travelled twice for lengthy periods during graduate school to do research. One was a former professor I’d had in Costa Rica who’d returned to Chile after 17 years in exile, another was someone I interviewed for a project and subsequently became good friends with, and yet another was a “fixer” from a political party who’d single-handedly arranged at least half of my interviews with top politicians in the country.

I can’t tell you how delightful it’s been to forge these personal connections anew. I am now in regular touch with all three of them, and it has enriched my life enormously. And the best part is, we picked up exactly where we had left off (minus the odd spouse, child and grandchild…).

Your turn. Did you ever become distanced from a particularly significant period in your past, only to rediscover it after decades? How did that feel? What brought it back?

According to statistics, up to 30 percent of us will experience changes in appetite as we age. This is a complaint my mom started having in her mid-60s. Foods she loved to eat as a teen or young adult just didn’t whet her appetite anymore.

She didn’t eat as much as before, preferred different foods and would even forget to have a meal sometimes. I never quite figured out why she experienced those changes until I got older, and the same thing started happening to me. That’s when I did the research.

Actually, appetite changes can impact us in many ways. For example, critical nutrients that our bodies need to function may be reduced. We may lose weight or have overall poorer health in general.

Some studies go so far as to say that many of the diseases that affect boomers are the result of dietary factors and these factors are exacerbated by the aging process.

Why Do Boomers Experience a Loss of Appetite?

It turns out there are many reasons why our appetites may change as we get older. Reasons for a loss of appetite include:

Changes in Our Bodies

Almost everything about our bodies changes as we age. Many of these changes may impact what we eat and how much we eat. For example, research shows that “because older adults’ abilities to absorb and utilize many nutrients become less efficient, their nutrient requirements […] actually increase.”

Also relevant are hormonal changes, especially during and after menopause, changes (usually decreases) in our sense of smell and taste and our reduced visual acuity – meaning food won’t look as good.

Changes in Our Living, Emotional, and Social Situations

You should not underestimate the impact our environment, mood, and social interactions can have on our appetites and food preferences. For example, many boomers suffer from depression which is known to impact appetite.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you live and eat alone, you may also suffer reduced appetite and eating patterns. When you live alone, you may have fewer “reminders” about when to eat. It may often happen that you just snack instead of having a balanced, healthy meal.

Chronic or Acute Diseases

In reality, virtually any acute illness, whether the common cold or constipation, can impact appetite. Chronic diseases, especially, can change your appetite and food preferences over the longer term. Most common chronic diseases among boomers are liver disease, diabetes, back or other pain, cancer, and heart disease.

Medications Can Influence a Loss of Appetite

Many boomers take at least one type of medication to treat acute or chronic conditions. Believe it or not, studies show that there are over 250 medications that can affect appetite and/or change how your food tastes and smells.

Therefore, there is a good chance that whatever you have in your medicine cabinet can impact your appetite and food preferences.

What Can You Do?

Luckily, there is a lot you can do to compensate for changes in appetite and food preferences as you get older.

The first, and arguably the most important, is to be aware of those changes before they reach a point where it affects your weight or health. It’s always better to nip it in the bud.

Here are some additional suggestions:

• Talk with your healthcare provider to see if there is any physical issue that could be impacting your appetite or food preferences.
• Enhance the flavor of your food with lemon juice, vinegar, spices, or herbs (limit salt and sugar, though).
• Try to eat a wider variety of foods at each meal – experiment with colors, textures, temperatures (chilled versus hot), mix of vegetables and fruits, and type of protein (vegan, chicken versus fish, for example).
• Increase your activity level since this has been shown to increase appetite – even 15 minutes of walking a day will help.
• Meet friends or family when you can, and share a meal with them. It’s even better if you cook together.
• Talk with your dentist if you’re having problems chewing or if your teeth become sensitive to hot or cold.
• Give yourself a treat and use your good dinnerware (that is why you have it, after all).
• Drink water instead of sugary or diet drinks.

Most Importantly, Be Focused on Good Nutrition as Your Appetites Change

Not needing to eat as much as we once did, not wanting food we may have once liked, and needing fewer calories does not mean that you must sacrifice getting the minerals, vitamins, and other key nutrients you need.

One thing to keep in mind is that there is a difference between nutrient-dense foods, which pack more nutritional value per calorie, and calorie-dense food, which fill you up but don’t necessary have a lot of nutritional value.

The latter are often called foods with “empty calories” and include such things as candy, potato chips, and alcoholic beverages. Your best bet is to stick with nutrient-dense foods such as vegetables, lean protein, and complex carbohydrates.

For example, a chicken breast and popcorn each have about 100 calories per serving. But with the chicken breast, you’re getting protein and a variety of nutrients. On the other hand, the popcorn may make you feel fuller, but you’re not really giving your body a lot of nutrients.

While all nutrients are important when taken in the right balance, there are certain ones that you need to make sure you are getting enough of. These include:

• Vitamin B12: Helps with brain function, helps keep nervous and circulatory systems healthy.
• Potassium: Needed for heart health, nervous system health and muscle strength.
• Calcium: Needed for heart health and strong bones.
• Magnesium: Needed for most bodily systems.
• Vitamin C: Helps lower blood pressure, promotes heart health and stimulates immunity.
• Vitamin D: Helps with hypertension, needed for healthy bone growth and helps protect vision.

Another tool you have handy is the nutritional labels on all packaged foods and beverages you buy at the supermarket. While these labels may look intimidating, they were designed to be easy-to-use.

They give you the information you need to make informed decisions about the foods you’re purchasing. The labels include this important information:

• Serving size
• Calories per serving and calories from fat per serving
• How much of the daily value of any given nutrient you get from each serving. For example, 10 percent of your daily need for Vitamin C.

Armed with these tools, there is no reason why you should not get the nutrients you need to stay healthy as you age.

If you’re not sure whether your appetite or food preferences have changed, or whether you’re experiencing nutrition changes, you should consider having your nutrients tested. This is especially important since what you need and how much you need of key nutrients tends to change over time.

As I age, I am constantly learning new things about my health. “Anyone who keeps learning stays young,” according to Henry Ford. So let’s all learn together and be forever young.

Do you find that your appetite has gotten smaller with age? What is your experience with changes in appetite or food preferences, either with yourself or your friends and family? How did you deal with it? What did you do to overcome them? Were your strategies successful? Tell us about it. Please join the conversation.

The Hadids aren’t like the Kardashians in that we don’t follow their ever-changing hair and makeup looks. They’re models after all, and usually models have to keep it more low-key when it comes to their hair especially. But Bella Hadid has been experimenting with her hair lately and seems to be having a lot of fun. And we love watching all the changes. Unsurprisingly, she can pull off literally anything.

This week, Hadid hit up a few spots in NYC with what looks like her glam team to “celebrate our last job of the season before a few weeks off for summer!” she wrote on Instagram. It’s hard to tell what part of her hair is her own that was dyed and cut and what part is a wig. She loves to add faux pieces to mix up her style, which is a safe way to experiment without taking the plunge. This new look features orange “money piece” highlights—but look closely. That’s not all.

She also tried blunt layers that have become the cool-girl style as of late. The edgy look almost resembles grown-out bangs since the layers don’t blend into each other. It’s like two different hairstyles put together. Celebs don’t often try it but you see this cut on fashion It-girls. Of course, Bells nailed it.

Source: Instagram

Earlier this week, Hadid posted a TikTok where she has similar orange highlights but in a bob haircut with baby bangs.

Source: Instagram

She also showed off a new Miss Sixty campaign in which she has a retro-style honey blonde bob with flipped-out ends and blunt bangs.

Source: Instagram

Yes, this was all in one week. We’re tired just thinking about her glam time. It has us wondering what her next week will bring, especially with some time off and a new TikTok account.