Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Extend Your Vocabulary

Last month, I wrote my New Years Resolutions. The third one said "Read at least one to two books a month to extend my vocabulary." For the month of January I managed to read three novels, and I am currently reading a poetry book. I usually like reading books on romance, finding yourself, and inspiration. But recently I have been open to reading different genres, like Thriller for example(my new favorite). I will start writing brief, mini book reviews once a month. I won't go too much in detail. I don't want to spoil the plot, instead I intend to give a taste. If you recommend any good books, please comment me and let me know!

Coco Chanel The Legend And The Life by Justine Picarde is a biography of the fashion icon who created timeless, chic style. Picarde gives you an in depth tour of how Chanel rose from being an abandoned orphan to becoming famous, wealthy, and a mogul with an expansive empire. I really enjoyed reading this book. Chanel is classy, sleek, and independent. The symbols, life philosophies, and fashion of Chanel is truly inspiring. 

Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst is a story about a fallen mother-daughter relationship. One night, Laura is awakened by her daughter Cassie, who shocks her with a new born baby in the attic. Laura is confused and wondering why she never realized her daughter was pregnant. Instead of scolding her, she rushes her to the hospital. After the baby is born, Cassie decides that she isn't ready to be a mom, so she puts the baby up for adoption. Soon after, they are both accepted to be paired up and participate in a reality game show that takes place all over the World called "Lost and Found." Throughout their travels, all the contestants are forced to work together to over come obstacles, at the same time they all individually stumble upon their secrets and how they are lost in their relationships, sexuality, and the game itself. I was crying off and on when reading this book, the transition of the mother and daughter relationship was so touching. 

Hush by Kate White is a thriller about Lake, who is surprised by her husband, who files for a divorce. Lake is heart broken, but knows she must go on for the sake of her children. She is a marketing consultant at an Advanced Fertility Clinic, where she meets the charming Dr. Keaton. Right after their one night stand, he is murdered while she was outside his apartment. She flees from the scene, careful to choose wise paths where she won't be suspected as the murderer. Lake tries to keep calm at work, so her co-workers and the investigators don't suspect her. While Lake tries to search for the truth, the murderer sends her life threatening warnings to let her know she is being watched. Lake learns that she is alone in the chase and that she has to be careful who she trusts. It was crazy to see the different angles on how the murderer could be anyone around her. My heart was constantly pounding as I was reading this suspenseful book.

She Walks In Beauty A Woman's Journey Through Poems by Caroline Kennedy is a lovely collection of poetry that embraces womanhood. The book has various sections such as love, friendships, work, motherhood, growing, and death. Although each poem brings different meanings, feelings, and visuals, they all share beauty. So far I love this book, it is filled with so many beautiful quotes!

  

flipping through the pages and getting lost in words,
Deanna

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Bay View Zipline

I have been craving to zip line on the other islands for so long! I can't fly anywhere right now due to school time. So, to temporarily relieve this desire, yesterday afternoon Bianca and I decided to make a last minute trip to BayView Mini-Putt and Zipline in Kaneohe, where the first and only zip line on Oahu is located. When we arrived, we went straight to the cashier to choose our package, since we already knew which deal to pick prior to our online research.

We both chose the three rides for forty dollars package. But, we received an even better deal after showing our ids, she is in the military and I am a local resident. The total came out to only twenty five dollars each! We paid and signed our lives away, then proceeded to the gear section to prep for our mini flights. Once our yellow helmets and thick belts were strapped, we followed our guide through the golf course and climbed up a flight of stairs to reach the thirty foot suspended tree house.

One by one, our guide separately clipped us onto two individual zip lines. Our clipped belts were clipped to a couple cords, which were also clipped to a metal wheeling device. Besides the clips, only the zip lines carried our weight. After we were both secured, the guide let go of the stopper, as Bianca and I went soaring through the view of swaying palm trees, an adjacent golf course, and Kaneohe bay in the distance. Less then twenty seconds later, we were already lifting our legs up for landing at the ending dock. The guides on this end, helped us unload and handed us our gadgets, then we went down the stairs and retraced the same path to repeat two more rounds of zip lining.

Overall, Bianca and I had a fun time! The short course was like a beginner introduction, since the zip line was only four hundred feet. The whole experience went by too quick, but now we have an idea of what it will be like when we participate in intense zip lining tours throughout the World. The zip lining tours on the other islands consists of zip lines that are hundreds of feet in the air, longer lengths, and take place above grand waterfalls, deep canyons, and lush forests. I'm so excited to zip line when vacation comes around!












How do I know Bianca?

During my first semester at San Francisco City College, Bianca and I met in Poetry For The People class. We connected through poetry and that is how our friendship began. We would explore the city and discuss beauty. I even featured her on my old beauty blog as woman of the month. She has seen me grown in writing about beauty. My old blog was mostly about make-up(when I used to wear too much!), now I write about the beauty of everything around me (and wear minimal make-up daily). Our friendship recently re-united, she is currently stationed on the island for the military. Bianca and I are poetic sisters and share similar interests: we both enjoy trying new adventures, have Phoenix tattoos, and love to express ourselves through poetry.

Our wings,
constantly flow,
to seek,
and discover,
reincarnated beauty,
from volcanic ashes.

playing between the local lines,
Deanna

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Ocean Sparkle

I am currently wearing a fun nail polish combo. For the base, I am wearing two coats of Mint Apple by SinfulColors. Then I layered on one top coat in Spark-tacular by Sephora by OPI. Dawnavin said the glitter looks like Ocean Sparkle, and that is when the title was born.



a colorful burst of confetti,
Deanna

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Natural High

For the longest time, I kept telling myself that I will start running after I get a new pair of running shoes. Two years and two sets of shoes later, I woke up early this morning to finally go for a run. I quickly changed into my running attire, gathered my prepped I-pod, stretched, then power walked out the door. I started walking first, then gradually picked the pace up to tempo. In my head I was thinking hey this isn't as bad as I thought it would be, it actually feels good! As I was running, I could slowly feel the transition of "burning off the past and heading into a fresh direction." I felt exhilarated, as the adrenaline flowed throughout my body and euphoria flooded my mind. I'm not going to lie, I walked it out a couples times in between. But its the start of finally doing it that counts. When I finally came to a finish, all I could think of was when I will run again...tomorrow morning!

My "No Time For BS" playlist:

1)"Moves Like Jagger"-Maroon 5
2)"Numb Encore"-Linkin Park feat. Jay-Z
3)"Run The World"-Beyonce'
4)"What You Waiting For"-Gwen Stefani
5)"Like A G6"-Far East Movement feat. The Cataracs  & Dev
6)"S&M"-Rihanna
7)"Sexy Back"-Justin Timberlake
8)"Empire State Of Mind"(New York)-Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys
9)"Gotta Get Through This"-Daniel Bedingfield
10)"All Of The Lights"-Kanye West feat. Rihanna

running inspirations from Pinterest:









Benefits of running:
-lowers blood pressure
-strengthens the lungs'
-relieves stress/depression
-tones the body
-effective way to loose weight
-convenient and free
-increases energy to balance daily life

 get sexy by getting those endorphins running,
Deanna

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Speachana Smoothie

For the past couple of months, I have been adding this nutritious smoothie to my health regimen. I try to drink this smoothie 4-7 times throughout the week. I call it Sp-each-ana Smoothie since it is made with a mixture of spinach, peaches, and a banana.Spinach is a rich source for Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Iron, Calcium, and Zinc. Peaches are a good source for dietary fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Potassium. Bananas are well source for Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassium, and Vitamin B6. 

Sometimes I replace it for a meal or drink it as a snack, the green smoothie satisfies my hunger and keeps me full. By balancing exercise, eating healthy, and adding Speachana to your intake routine, you will see weight loss results over time. This smoothie is an easy way to gulp down nutrients and vitamins, especially for those who don't like to eat fruits or vegetables. Some people think that it will taste nasty due to the color, but it actually taste delicious! Add the ingredients into a blender, blend, then drink up! I encourage all of you to try Speachana!

Ingredients:
-1 banana
-1 handful of spinach 
-1/2 cup of frozen peaches
-1 cup of water


Yummy, my favorite!


luminous green liquid,
Deanna

Friday, January 6, 2012

Bare Escentuals

Bare Escentuals is one of the first make-up lines I tried as a teenager. The brands motto "Swirl, Tap, and Buff" makes it an easy application for all ages. The beauty line is known for its bareMinerals, which are blendable, vibrant, and smudge free. A healthy plus for your skincare is that these minerals are created with non-toxic preservatives. Last year's campaign for Bare Escentuals encouraged everyone to embrace their inner beauty. The poetic ad caught my attention, when I was flipping through a magazine: "Be a force of beauty. Pretty is not enough. Pretty is nice. It's fine. Pretty can turn heads. But beauty? Beauty can change the whole World. Pretty is what you are, but beauty is what you do with it. Pretty lifts spirits. Beauty makes them soar. So smile. Be Bold. Show your beauty. Because when you put pretty into action, there's no limit to what you can do."-Bare Escentuals 


For Christmas, my parents gave me two bareMinerals sets. The first set Year of Beauty contains twelve
eyeshadows for every month of the year. I love how the eyeshadows are highly pigmented, feel light, and glide on smoothly. The eyeshadows are conveniently versatile, you can customize your own shades by mixing the pigments together. You can also use light shades as a highlighter for the face, add a little bit of water to use as eyeliner, or layer to intensify the color. The creative possibilities are endless! Overall I rate this set five out of five stars. The second set Flawless and Fearless is a collection duo that contains a mini Pretty Amazing lip color in Fearless and a mini Flawless Definition Volumizing mascara in Black


I love how the lip color is a two in one, lipstick and lipgloss. The texture is creamy, leaving the lips hydrated with an ultra shine. The lip shade is gorgeous and perfect for everyday wear. The mascara separates, lengthens, and volumizes lashes. I only apply two coats of this mascara for my upper lashes, and one coat for my bottom lashes, the result looks like I am wearing falsies. With this mascara, I don't even have to use a lash primer or curl my lashes prior. Flawless has become one of my top favorite mascaras. I rate this set five out of five stars as well. Down below are swatches of the shades. Thank you for the gift mom and dad!


The design of the container has a built in sifter. 


The eyeshadows are named after the twelve months, I came up with a name for each shade.

From left to right:

January- Soft Periwinkle
February-Salmon Haze
March-Golden Olive
April-Silver Stone
May-Majestic Eggplant 
June-Vanilla Linen


From right to left: 

July-Blueberry Sea
August-Bronze Goddess
September-Chocolate Frost 
October-Deep Burgundy
November-Charcoal Grey
December-Iridescent Pearl


Pretty Amazing lip color in Fearless 




Flawless Definition Volumizing mascara in Black


Before


After


shimmering pixie dust for all year round,
Deanna