In Super Bloom the main character is a massage therapist who is providing a famous author with content to use for her next novel about a massage therapist as well so it’s a bit meta. The supporting characters in the novel were fun to read about with all the different ranges of stereotypes of massage therapists and a mother – like so many mothers out there – who LOVE to shop for and give away secondhand items. And it’s admittedly entertaining to read about people daydreaming about going apeshit at work.
I give it an A-
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
The only reason I admittedly picked this novel up was because of the book title, which just piqued my curiosity. The ladies in this southern book club all lived in the same neighborhood and were all housewives that banded together in times of need which is a bit reminiscent of the premise of the TV show Desperate Housewives. My own book club ladies and I were pleasantly surprised to learn that the author Grady Hendrix is a male author since the story was quite female-centric and the male characters that were in the book goes to show why the women had to all band together to do the deed described in the title of the book, why a lot of women do not want men in their book clubs, etc.
I give it a B+
Lessons in Chemistry
This book is now a popular Apple TV series starring Brie Larson as the protagonist Elizabeth Zott. The vampire novel above took place in the 1980s & 90s vs this book takes place in the 1960s with both eras showcasing different degrees in how much worse it was for women back in the day and it’s nice to see more books about that since many women alive today have lived through those eras and it helps explain why many of them have lived the way they have/did. Like the “going apeshit at work” fantasy aspect I appreciated in the Super Bloom novel above, i think this novel provides you with how you would want it to end in spite of what women like Elizabeth Zott had to go through during that era. It reminded me of the real life stories of the trailblazers like Ruth Bader Ginsberg but told with thoughts/feelings of also those around the protagonist, including that of a dog.
I have been known to express my creativity in various ways that tend to stand out because of presentation (ie. the way I dress) And while it does grab people’s attention, a lot of people miss the part about me doing these things very intentional and with purpose altogether. This Behind Closed Doors art installation compilation video is an example that embodies that, as does the song choice I had for the video (“Praying” by Kesha, in case the music somehow gets muted)
This is a project I started nearly two years ago when I was going through my own battle for a cause I believe in. And as I continue to help others in similar situations as an interpreter, I decided that I wanted to dedicate this project to those who continue the good fight.
As many of you know already, I thought that a “Birthday Suit” was an actual outfit until my early 20s. So the tradition of gifting myself a new outfit on my birthday continues on. This year, I couldn’t decide between going with a watermelon look or a green apple look when I saw the adorable lunchbox style purse and the beret. So I got one dress that works with either look and came up with two fruit looks:
The Watermelon Look
Because the purse was so adorable, I decided to do a mini DIY project to make a pair of sunglasses to match the one on the purse. I painted the pink teardrop-shaped rhinestones I had with dark nail polish and applied them onto the sunglasses. Link for the black pumps: https://amzn.to/3OhTNxv
The Green Apple Look
Since the main focus for this look was the green apple beret (https://amzn.to/3DHXQOI), I decided to keep the rest of the look simple and just wore the dress with nude pumps (https://amzn.to/3qf7WDO)
In retrospect, I realize that both looks very much evoke “Back to School” Fashion, especially since I’m sporting a purse that looks like a lunchbox. I guess it’s part of me continuing to embrace my inner childlike fun/youthful side when it comes to things like fashion and it might not be the worst thing to have going for me as I celebrate becoming another year older again.
The book club ladies and I have been avid readers & fans of Fredrik Bakman novels since A Man Named Ove. We completed his Beartown trilogy after reading The Winners. I typically DO NOT like novels that contain too many characters to keep track of, but Bakman does such a great job of illustrating each character through description of who they are and what they contribute to the story in all of his novels that he has been the exception.
In the case of the Beartown series, it really is about the town as a whole, the pros and cons of having a town centered around a sport like hockey. Even though the novel takes place in a fictional town in Sweden the storyline sounded very familiar to many of us North Americans in the book club of stories we’ve heard about other places where incidents that can have lash back effect when surfacing out into the open like rape or homosexuality that occurs from male toxicity culture in the world of sports.
From a simplistic standpoint, some people might not want to read a book about that type of serious subject matter. But anyone who has ever read any of Fredrik Bakman’s novels will understand that no matter how heavy of a subject matter it is that he tackles in his novels, he has this way of showing how heartwarming it can be when people come together like they do in this town.
If you didn’t love the first two of the trilogy it would also be difficult to probably bring oneself to feel motivated to pick up the third book that amounts to a hefty 670 pages. Part of it has to do with an addition of some new characters in the third book that parallel the storyline of first book and what they went through and how it differed. But it does tie it all together and leads up to the explosive aftermath of it all.
And from the first book, the author does start to give clues as to where each of the younger characters will end up in the future as adults which kind of makes you want to keep reading the books that follow to find out. And the second and third books did include decent summaries what happened in the previous book(s) so that you’re not completely clueless if that was the first/only book you had started reading.
I am also grateful that Backman tends to portray strong female characters/or female characters who become strong in his novels, the Beartown series being no exception. Maybe that’s why his novels tend to be a big hit amongst us book club ladies.
Overall, my rating for the Beartown trilogy is a 8.9 out of 10.
Iceland was a first time adventure for me. April felt like the perfect time of the year to go as the sun set at a reasonable time of the night and the temperatures were of course quite frigid under my California gal standards, but still doable. Therefore, seeing things like Northern Lights as well as the gorgeous blue ice caves was still an option. I did make sure we stayed in a different unique lodging every night during our 4 nights/5days there. So for those who want a reference/ideas of how to go about planning a first time trip there:
Day/Night 1: Reykjavik
Arriving early morning (a little past 6AM) did give us a whole day to explore the capitol, which is probably enough time for most people. There are buses that go from the airport to Reykavik and the Bubbble Tour we signed up for Day/Night 2 picked us up at our hotel in Reykjavik and dropped us back off at the same hotel the next day. However, we opted for picking up the the rental car from the airport on Day 1 upon arrival since we would need it for the rest of the trip driving along the southern coast.
Exploring Downtown Reykjavik
Although it was at the very beginning of the trip, we got most of our shopping done here for souvenirs and such since we figured the rest of the trip would be spent doing activities focused around enjoying the beauty of the outdoor nature. For a more economic option, try going in some of the grocery stores for snacks. I also purchased a loaf of the Icelandic bread Rúgbrauð in a grocery store to take home as a souvenir. And we did get to ascend to the 8th story of the tower of the iconic church hallgrÃmskirkja to overlook the view of the city (NOTE: It’s free to go inside the church but the ticket to go up the tower was about $8.50 USD/person)
Right across the street from the church is Cafe Loki where you can try different kinds of Icelandic food, including the ice cream made from the Rúgbrauð that I had been wanting to try, along with the Icelandic delicacy of fermented shark meat that my girlfriends managed to have by downing it with the Icelandic Vodka. I also tried it without the vodka and will say that I’m so glad the shark meat were cut into sample sizes that you pick up with toothpicks….
For the first night, we stayed at the Eyja Guldemeden Hotel in Reykjavik. I personally like to fit in a workout to help get rid of jet lag so I was happy to stay at a place that had a gym, as small as it was. The vibe of the gym matched that of the hotel overall, with everything made of wood and giving off a very zen feeling.
Day/Night 2: Golden Circle Tour + Overnight in the Buubble
Those of you who have been researching Iceland vacation ideas may have already come across advertisements for staying overnight in a clear bubble called “Buubble.” (Click here to watch the YouTube video of me entering my Buubble) I figured it would be the perfect way to see the Northern Lights — which we did! The reason why I actually ended up inviting my close girlfriends to come on the trip with me initially was because each of these Buubbles are double occupancy-based and if you are a solo traveler, you are charged a solo traveler penalty fee. Note that the tour is also canceled if there aren’t at least 3 people, so luckily we were a group of 3 and were given 2 Buubles to stay in between the 3 of us. I did place a white circle over the face of one of my girlfriends I photographed inside our Buuble (to the right)
By the time you read this, it is possible that the information on their website is edited. But contrary to what I had initially read on their website, they do actually have a refrigerator for you to be able to keep food in overnight as well as Wi-Fi and two bathrooms with showers in the communal area. It was about a little under $500/person which is not too bad, considering what is included in addition to the overnight stay there.
The Golden Circle Tour preceding the overnight stay also exceeded beyond our expectations since our guide was nice enough to take us to wonderful bonus stops that weren’t mentioned on the website itinerary, including our first stop at an ice cream shop where we got to watch [or be watched by] cows whose milk was used to make the ice cream we got to enjoy. He also had us stop by an Icelandic horse stable to feed them bread.
Northern Lights
While we got very lucky being able to see the Northern Lights due to a rare clear night sky, full disclosure: The naked human eye is not able to process the vivid colors you see in the photos taken of the Northern Lights. Therefore, when you hold your camera phone up against the night sky, you can see the vivid colors on your phone screen as you do, but when you look up at the actual sky you see what I would describe more as a milky white thing that reminds me of when you put milk in coffee.
<– So yes, this photo to the left was taken with a phone camera, as was the photo shown at the beginning of this blog post.
Day/Night 3: Fire Day
Being the land of fire and ice, I planned volcanic adventures for this day involving going to a lava tunnel (Raufarhólshellir, the 4th longest lava tube in Iceland) and then watching the one and only lava show in the world (in VÃk) where actual molten lava flows in.
Lava Tunnel
We got geared up with helmets and were guided into the underground tunnels that had all kinds of color variations from the minerals like sulfur. You could also see the icicles that form from the traditional method we tend to be familiar with hanging down but also these upside down icicles that form from repeated drips of water freezing over to form these mountains that resemble icy phalanges, which were my favorite.
The Lava Show
The Lava Show is in fact an indoor facility where the owners have perfected a method of being able to get actual volcanic lava to flow in so that you can see the whole process of when it starts off molten hot to when it cools down to form lava rocks or black sand when coming into contact with ice. The cooled down lava rocks they give you to take home as a souvenir afterwards makes for a lovely keepsake.
You can have a lovely lunch or dinner at the restaurant there before or after the shows (they have two shows a day) as they are famous for their soups.
This was all along the way as we drove along the southern coast of Iceland, making our way out to Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon near the glaciers so we can be rest up and prepare for our “Ice Day” the next day. This was the longest stretch of driving we did on the trip and my advice would be to fill up the gas tank in the rental car somewhere between VÃk and the Fosshotel when you see one, just because you won’t see one for a long time and will definitely to need to fill up by then.
Day/Night 4: Ice Day
Ice Day consisted of a tour via the company Blue Iceland doing ice glacier hiking and exploring the bluest ice caves in Iceland. The tour company provides you with a ride to the glacier, the helmet and crampons to gear up with and a guide that helps you with all that and takes you on the ice glacier hike & ice caving. We signed up for the 5-7 hour tour, which might sound long but it does take about 45 minutes to get to the glacier, which equates to about 90 minutes roundtrip. While ice glacier hiking is still an option during the summer months, April is the last month before ice caving no longer is an option for the rest of the summer months. So again, timing-wise if you want to make it to Iceland and be able to see/do things like the Northern Lights or the ice caving, this would be the time to go without having to worry about the daylight duration being too short or too long. While the Northern Lights phenomenon was a bit underwhelming for me personally because I couldn’t see it with my own eyes, the gorgeous blue of the ice caves is pretty much as photographed and not disappointing at all. You are also made very aware of how much of the glacier and ice caves changes and sadly disappears everyday, which is all the more why we should appreciate it when we get to see it.
The “Ice Day” concluded with a gorgeous snowy weather/landscape of the Magma Hotel, which I specifically chose for their unique grassy rooftop features and delicious food. The grassy rooftops are part of traditional Icelandic architecture that helps insulate heat.
Day 5: Blue Lagoon + Return Flight
While we were able to make a quick/spontaneous pit stop again at the Seljalandsfoss waterfall where we had just stopped by two days prior driving in the opposite direction. The first time we went to the back of the main/big waterfall so this time we stopped by the so-called “secret” waterfall, which is a smaller waterfall off to the side hidden deeper behind a narrow pathway. I emphasize the “spontaneous” and “quick” part of the pit stops because if you’re like me and want to make sure you don’t end up late or be close to being late to things especially when you had reservations like we did to the Lava Show or the Blue Lagoon on those days afterwards, you probably preplanned everything to make sure you have enough time to make it to things on time. Day 3 and 5 had the most driving and multiple reservation times to keep track of so if you want/need to still do other things like meal and bathroom breaks or pit stops along the way, preplan accordingly and let others traveling with you how much time you can all spend on these places) We did stop by the famous Blue Lagoon to relax one last time before getting back to the rental car drop off & airport. In comparison, the Secret Lagoon we had soaked in on Day 2 during the Golden Circle tour was a bit more rustic. So if you like that luxurious spa environment this one might feel more preferable.
This year, one of the birthday celebrations I did included watching the biopic film Elvis. Although Elvis wasn’t the initial inspiration behind the choices I made for this year’s “birthday suit” outfit I came up with, it did end up being quite en pointe with the reoccurring lightning bolt symbolism as well as the array of suit jackets that Elvis sported.
I did add a splash of red in that same sparkly element with my shoes but kept the other sparkly accents and accessories in the matching silver as the lightning bolt lapels of the suit jacket, the statement piece of the outfit. It was my first time purchasing a men’s suit jacket for myself and I was pleasantly surprised when I was reminded of the fact that it was designed as a menswear suit jacket with the number of pockets throughout the jacket and why men’s suits tend to be more expensive. Although the XS fit me, the fit itself still had a boxier appearance because it’s a man’s suit jacket so I did get it tailored to fit me a little more fitted in the waistline and got the sleeves shortened, all without compromising the pockets!
I did use a gift card from H&M to get the skirt and Amazon points to purchase the headband, which was a nice balance from a financial standpoint too in contrast to the splurge purchase of the jacket without either of them looking cheap either. And the shoes some of you may recognize from a previous fashion blog post I did for a nautical look.
Overall, it’s a look that I think even the King of Rock would have given me two thumbs up for, just as I felt about the movie.
I recently went to go watch the latest Downtown Abbey movie at the theaters and got dressed up for the occasion borrowing inspiration from the 1920s fringe look. Originally, I had bought these white fringe gloves for an Elvis look that I sported so it was kind of a comical coincidence to watch the previews for the Elvis movie coming out prior to the Downtown Abbey Movie starting (Perhaps I’ll go ahead and do another version of the look for the Elvis movie if I end up watching that one too!)
Although I will most likely not be here in another 100 years to do another ultra modern take on the 1920s and 2020s looks, if I can inspire others to have fun with their own take on looks from different eras in the meanwhile — then this Modern Vintage Woman will have left something to contribute to the world of fashion.
My official website http://www.monalisamoon.com has gone through a makeover 🙂 Please view it on a laptop or a desktop for the best view/if you would like to view it from a book format:
The birchwood forest background is actually taken from the physical wallpaper that covers my bedroom walls. I wanted to give it a feel of entering a forest when you click on the “enter” button of the homepage. The book look is consistent with the look of my old website which also was in a book format to showcase my portfolio book virtually. I wanted the photos of the book cover and the last page of the book (the contact page above) to tie in together with it being different facial expressions from the same photo shoot.
I often blog about things that we can visually see on people, like what to wear. But if the pandemic taught us all anything, we’ve come to care so much less about how we look in compared to how we feel.
(Though arguably, when you feel like you look great, it can make you feel great/better too)
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and I wanted to take the time to share some resources that I personally found insightful:
Videos:
Jay Shetty on Effective Days vs Efficient Days at the Ellen Show.
Too much of anything can obviously have adverse results (ie. too much fish –> mercury poisoning) so this is me consciously incorporating more of these things into my diet. The same goes for sunlight exposure, which is also a well-known mood-booster and source of vitamin D production in our bodies.
Speaking of sunlight — Since people who live in colder climates tend to experience less sun especially during the winter, when I read up on the benefits of colder water fish it made sense.
I also took a look at what were the mood-boosting ingredients in the Sourse Mood Boosting vitamin chocolates and saw that saffron was one of them so I went out and bought some to sprinkle into some of my curries and other dishes that I make for myself at home.
The big difference I did notice though is how it made me feel from taking the initiative to do these things, to take my own mental health seriously and talk about it openly with my close friends. You always hear people talk about concepts like Self Care/Self Love but it’s true —- I can’t wait around for others to come and take care of me, even if at times it feels nice when people show that they care about you.
I also tried the very challenging sport of Polo for the first time ever in my life last month. And between my realization that I should perhaps take riding lessons to become a more proficient rider first and my efforts to prioritize mental health, I am also contemplating options such as equestrian therapy.
I have always prided on taking pretty good care of my physical health. But even if say the things in the list above that I purchased for myself are also good for my physical health and have physical health benefits as well, the fact that I am doing it from a place driven more from a place of concern for my mental health feels like a game changer.
Again, these are all things I’M personally trying/have tried. So rather than taking these things as recommendations, I hope it may inspire you to explore your own versions of tackling your mental health, whatever they may be.
Typically, pastels are associated with spring. But as I’ve said in previous fashion posts, who wants to weigh down the dreariness of a cold snowy or rainy weather with dark colors?
Mint Green Gorgeous
I did decide to dress up for the theater with this minty green number I came up with. It all started with my attraction to the headband which led me to finding the dress to match it.
Rose & Sky + Beauty & Beast
Click here to purchase “It’s Time to Beast” and “Wake up Beauty” pillowcases.
Yup, it was time to replace my bedsheets after 7 years. And I decided to go a bit fancier this time by converting to bamboo sheets to appropriately match the splurge-worthy pottery barn bed I purchased several months after I bought my very own mattress for the first time seven years ago starting over as a single woman. In the same fashion as before, I decided to also replace my previous white word pillows this time with Beauty and the Beast-themed wording to go with the rest of the theme of my home.
Pretty in Pink
The warmest part of my cozy cottage aside the kitchen is by the dining table adjacent to the heater. So I decided that my tush deserved to sit on a warm fuzzy surface as well instead of directly on the cold hard dining chairs. It certainly doesn’t hurt that these seat cushions are just adorably shaped like roses. I did also upgrade my house slippers to these cozy numbers because my feet are just as deserving of warmth and comfort as my tush.
Pastel Rainbow
These shoes are a dream come true for those who fantasize about a land of unicorns and fairies. My much loved armoire continue to store them alongside my other shoes. And I recently started on this project of showcasing dictionary art prints on the inside of drawers and backsides of doors of other storage areas in my home. So may this serve as a sneak preview of my next blog post on that!
Le Blog: On Being a Modern Vintage Woman 