la vita è bella

Life Is Beautiful With Zenni Optical!

2011-12-09T20:47:00.000-08:00

All around us, there is so much beauty to see. Good eyesight enables us to see the beauty clearly. There is all different types of beauty. There is external beauty, which is things that we can physically see such as paintings, people around us, & animals. Then there is another kind of beauty called natural beauty which consists of waterfalls, mountains, oceans, and sunsets The third type of beauty is inside beauty such as the kindness of people,love,compassion, and generosity. For some people, seeing is a difficult task because they need eyeglasses, and without eyeglasses they won't be able to see the world as clearly & see the emphasis of beauty within it. With Zenni Optical you can choose from many different types of eyeglasses , they have eyeglasses for men, women, unisex, and kids. Zenni Optical provides you with great retail prices so you can buy affordable glasses and still be stylish. You can choose from different styles (leading edge,titanium etc), colors ( burgundy, clear, etc), and various shapes (oval, round, etc), sizes of frames ( small, medium, etc), and types (sunshade, full-rim, etc)

With your eyeglasses now on, you can enter the world of beauty much more clearly and make it come alive.

(Disclosure Policy) Sitewide- Please refer to my "Blog Policies" section of my blog.

eyeglasses

7 Tips To Save Money At the Supermarket!

2011-09-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, how are you? I hope everybody had a fantastic weekend. I have an idea to do a post about saving money at the supermarket, I thought I would share with you. Whenever I find tips/advice that are useful to others I can't wait to share them with my readers. I want to help people out & sometimes even just a simple tip can make a big difference.

Whenever you go to the supermarket, you don't want to spend an unbelievable amount of money, & you don't want to spend very little where you buy hardly anything at all right? Buying a good amount of items for a reasonable price is something you want to do. So here are 7 tips that I found that helped me save money while at the supermarket.

Credit given to trendscout

7 Tips To Save Money At the Supermarket!

1. Use coupons!! You can purchase them for a dollar or less on ebay, cut them out from your Sunday newspaper, & print out coupons from various sites like redplum, + search online coupons on google & lots of sites come up. Coupons work even better if an item is already on sale & you use a coupon for it, then you really have a deal.

2. Take advantage of store sales especially if an item is 1/2 price or 3 for $4, It's really good if it's on items you regularly purchase. This way you will have multiples of the item & you save money too.

3. Buy items you really need. Don't just buy items because they are on sale & in reality you will never eat them. If something is on sale & you don't use it, then don't buy it, otherwise you will waste money & the money you could have used for something that you really use will be wasted for something that you don't use.

4. Buy your groceries at a few different stores. Don't feel obligated to purchase them all at one store. It stands to reason that not all the items you are going to get are going to be on sale in just one store. I find that when I shop at different stores for my grocery orders, it is better this way. It gives me more of an advantage to get my items on sale. I realized when looking at store fliers that a lot of different stores have sales that are applicable. It's great because it saves a lot of money. I know most people may want to get all their items in one store, but if there are not a lot of sales in one store, then you may want to venture someplace else for more sales that you could get.

5. Buy store brand items if you can, because they are a lot cheaper than other brands. Just because it's a store brand item makes it a little more generic it doesn't mean it doesn't taste good. I had good & bad experiences with store brand items in the past. You basically have to find what works for you.

6. Don't stock up on snacks. Basically what I mean by this is don't buy a lot of chips, cookies, crackers etc. I find it to be a waste of money. I'm not saying don't ever buy snacks, but don't overdue it. The reason I'm saying this is because snacks aren't filling, & you probably will be hungry afterwords. Why waste money on food that doesn't fill you up right? I would suggest buying a limited amount of snacks, this way you can still have them, but you won't waste money on 10 different snacks that won't fill you up.

7. Buy multiples of sale items. Even if the sale is not 3 for $5 or 3 for $4 etc. I find if you buy multiples of items that are on sale you save a lot of money. This really works good if you buy items that are on sale that you use regularly because this way you have them for a long time & they will last. To be honest you don't really know when any item that you buy is going to be on sale again week after week, so it's best to stock up on items that you use that are on sale.

I hope this list that I made will help you out when you buy your groceries!

Enjoy your week everyone!

Movie Mondays #11 Charade (1963)

2011-09-05T02:16:00.000-07:00

The movie is about Regina (Audrey Hepburn) who is going to divorce her husband & finds out he has been killed after he committed a crime. She meets a mysterious guy Peter (Cary Grant) who shows interest in her husband's money which ends up coming from a WWII payroll that he had stolen the money from. The suspense leads on as other men as well are looking for the money that is stolen & everybody thinks Regina knows where it is.

This is a well thought out suspense film, I really enjoyed it. I don't usually see Audrey Hepburn in a suspense role, she is more in a lighter role. It was great seeing her in a different light. The suspense is great it builds up & it makes you want to keep watching. I definitely recommend this!! Oh & her mod 60's coats are another plus to this movie,I adore them. I am buying one for this coming fall.

The Bookworm Is Back & an Update on My Blog

2011-09-04T03:52:00.000-07:00

Hi!! How are you? I have not been on here in about a month. I know it is a long time since I last posted. I missed you all. I'm happy to hear all the positive feedback I received for my last post considering I was really upset that another link was showing up. Thanks to those who made sure it was my blog under the dashboard section, & not another blog because I was getting concerned on why another blog was showing up under my blog title. Anyway, I'm glad that is all cleared up.

I just want to explain a little about the reason I haven't been blogging. First off I had a lot of schoolwork, & that was taking up my time. I take school online for the time being.Then I had a dilemma with one of the courses that shifted my schedule. I'm not going to get into detail, because I don't want to bore you with random explanations of my classes & besides the fact that if I explained it on here, you would be reading a novel not a blog post, lol

Let's just say that I had a lot on my mind because of that & I was trying to figure my dilemma out first & not get occupied with blogging. It's sort of fixed now but not completely, but I don't want to abandon my blogger friends so I thought I would explain & post.

Another reason I have been not blogging is because I became a bookworm. I take out books from the library every couple weeks or so depending on when I get done with them. I would like to recommend some books that I have read & enjoyed. I came across this Italian author named Adriana Trigiani while searching for Italian themed books online. I read great reviews on her, & I thought I check out her books. Her books are fantastic , you really get involved with the story lines & the characters. The books make you feel like you are there. So the ones that I have read of hers have a lot of emotion, & you really feel what the characters are going through in the story. Her stories are always filled with a cast of characters, they never focus on just one or two people.

This was the first book I read of hers. It is about Bartolomeo di Crespi who is an interior decorator of a church called Our Lady of Fatima. In the Italian-American town that he lives in, the church is about to be renovated. He wants that job to go to him & a lot happens along the way. I can't explain this book in one word because it has a lot of emotion in it. It is about love, interior design, trust, friendships,etc. It is an enjoyable book.

This is the second book I read of hers. This is the first book of the two books of the Valentine series. They are a wonderful series. This one is about the Angelini Show Company who are makers of fancy wedding shoes since 1903 which is one of the last businesses that are family owned in Greenwich Village. The company is doing bad financially. Therefore Teodora & her granddaughter Valentine have to prevent their family company from being financially destroyed. The book has happy moments & some sad moments thrown in & again with a lot of emotion. Overall it is a very heartwarming book, & I really enjoyed it.

P.S. I heard on the internet somewhere that this will be made into a T.V. movie on the Lifetime channel. I'm excited!!

This is the second book in the Valentine series. An opportunity that is given to Valentine takes her all the way to Buenos Aires Argentina where she find out more about her family & along the way she is torn by her past love & a new one. Again, it is very heartwarming & enjoyable.

Note: There is also a few more books I have read of hers but I choose not to review them for now because I don't want this post to be really long.

(Credit goes to the sites/person these photos belong to.)

Hope everybody is enjoying their weekend! I will catch up to all the comments soon!

P.S. I hope you don't mind, but I decided I'm not going to post recipes until I get a camera, because (long story), but I can't afford one as of now. It's just that it's not as fun as putting your own food photos up with the recipes. I don't want to post my recipe with someone's photo, because the whole purpose is showing what you made, if you don't have the photo to go with it, it just kind of defeats the whole purpose of posting your recipe. So I will refrain from posting recipes until I get a camera, because of this. But I will be posting food reviews of different products, so don't worry my blog will never be food free!! lol

Movie Mondays #10 Hercules (1958)

2011-07-11T08:43:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! First I want to apologize for my delay in posting, but I had a dilemma in my Italian class that I'm taking, so I was very distracted with that. I am going to deal with the dilemma today & hopefully get it taken care of.

I think the sword & sandal epic movies are really true classics of the 1950's & 1960's of the fantasy genre movies. There is something about them that is just so fascinating between the music, the introduction of the big title appearing on the screen & the clothes, it's just amazing. I always loved them. I used to watch the T.V. series "Hercules & the Legendary Journey", which aired awhile back. That is off the air now & has been for awhile. So I then found the classic Hercules movies from the 1950's/1960s. ( I used to watch regular gladiator sword & sandal movies which were not about Hercules but other Roman & Greek related characters.) I also enjoyed those too:)

I had saw two other films based on Hercules which I'm pretty sure were " Hercules Unchained", & "Hercules & the Avenger". There are a bunch more which you can watch on youtube.com. I am not sure if there is a specific order of his adventures since it's not a series but a movie. I never knew they had an original Hercules movie from the 1950's, but I was surprised to find on youtube.com that they did. Before I saw the 1950's Hercules on youtube.com, I had come across a 1980's one as well. It looked good, but unfortunately the trailer killed my urge to see it. It didn't interest me, so then I finally came across the 1950's version, & I'm glad I did.

The movie centers around Hercules (Steve Reeves) who arrives in the Greek kingdom of Iolcus. His purpose there is to tutor the son of king Pelias (Ivo Garrani) who is named Iphitus (Mimmo Palmara). As soon as he comes to the kingdom he meets the king's daughter Iole ( Sylva Koscina), whom he falls deeply in love with. Before he can get her, he must accomplish a number of quests & team up with Jason (Fabrizio Mioni) who is the heir of the city, to achieve those quests.

I love the title introduction!

I love her dress!!!

Those Grecian jugs are amazing!!

What are those called? I think they are drinking vases or drinking cups, is that right?

I really enjoyed this movie, although I wished it had more creatures for him to fight, but the plot was worth watching. If you are into sword & sandal movies I recommend this!

An interesting fact about this movie is that even though it is based on a Greek Myth, it was filmed in Italy & considered an Italian film.

Movie Mondays #9 Bread & Tulips (2000)

2011-07-04T08:33:00.000-07:00

This is an Italian foreign movie with English subtitles. I love foreign films because they have a whole different approach then American films. I can't explain it, it's just different but good. I'm not putting down American films, as I mentioned before I love all genres. Did you just notice I just called what I was watching a "film" & a "movie"? It's the same thing just a different word, but silly of me to put them in the same sentence.

The movie is about Rosalba (Licia Maglietta) who goes on a bus trip with her husband Mimmo (Antonio Catania), & their son, soon enough Rosalba is left behind & her husband & son forgot all about her. Frustrated, confused, & upset, Rosalba sets off on her own on a hitchhiking trip to Venice, even though her husband then realizes & tells her to stay where she is. Besides it having a different approach to it because it's a foreign film, it has also comedy & drama mixed in. It's a crazy story & along her trip she meets a boatload of characters. I don't mean character as in name, I mean their personalities. I recommend it because it's a fun film & there a a few laughs along the way. :)

Hope everybody has a wonderful 4th of July!

Book Review: Enchantment The Life of Audrey Hepburn by Donald Spoto

2011-07-03T15:46:00.000-07:00

I adore Audrey Hepburn & she is one of my favorite actresses, so reading a biography about her was a great opportunity to get to know her more personally. This book is an amazing biography of the recollection of the events in Audrey Hepburn's life. It starts from her childhood & leads up to the events that took place up until the day she died. It not only elaborates on her life history, but as well as the people she became close friends with & her co-stars that were with her in her movies. This is the first book I have read by Donald Spoto, & he is an excellent author. Even though this is not a suspense book where you would usually keep turning the pages to see what happens next, this book has the kind of writing style that is so well put together you just want to keep reading more & more. I definitely recommend this book if you are a fan of Audrey Hepburn.

I do want to put one thing out there. In some of the excerpts it tells a lot of detail about some of her movies, so I really recommend this book if you seen most of her movies, otherwise reading this may giveaway too much about her movies & their endings.

Credit given to source for photo!

So Retro Saturdays #2 The Many Faces of Twiggy!

2011-07-02T09:25:00.000-07:00

Twiggy is remembered as a fashion icon & as one of the first international supermodels of the 60's. I really love the 60's, & Twiggy just brought out some of the very best of the 60's retro looks.


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Credit Given: All the links to the sources are under each photo & any other source this belongs to that I wasn't aware of, credit given to that as well.

Fashionista Fridays #1 Vintage Bathing Suits

2011-07-01T07:42:00.000-07:00

These is the start of another series I have called "Fashionista Fridays", which revolves around everything fashion whether it be retro or present time fashion. I am a fashionista, I absolutely adore fashion!

Since the summer is here, I thought it would be great to post about vintage bathing suits & see the different styles back then. I love to see how the swimsuits were back in the day Such a difference from now isn't it?

Credit given : All these photos are from Life magazine or from pin interest website (with a Life magazine source).

What's In The Oven Wednesdays? #1 Pillsbury Stars & Stripes Funfetti Cake!

2011-06-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts about my newest series called "So Retro Saturdays", I decided to come up with another series called "What's In The Oven Wednesdays", revolving on cooking/baking. This recipe is going to be the first recipe I'm posting for this series even though I previously posted two recipes that weren't part of the series.

Usually every 4th of July I would usually go see fireworks, but these past years I kind of got tired of them between the loud noise & a previous year of having the firework land on the blanket we were sitting on. That kind of did it for me. So I thought it would be fun to make something for 4th of July, in terms of baking a delicious treat while in the background hear the slight sound of fireworks from my home, which wouldn't sound as loud.

Since I didn't cook/bake any recipes growing up as I mention here. Now I discovered a deep love for cooking/baking that I never knew I had. (If you want to see it click the word here), I am a newbie at learning how to cook & what to make. I'm taking baby steps into the world of cooking. My first two recipes I posted were "Rice Krispies Treats", &"Aggression Cookies". Those I learned from middle school.

My oven broke at first & I was without a camera so cooking was impossible for awhile. I have an oven now but can't afford a camera & misplaced the piece to hook up the camera with the computer. I would buy a new camera but in order to have the camera hook up with the computer to upload photos I would need to buy a digital camera & the only thing I could afford is a cheap camera, but those aren't digital & can't hook up to the computer. So I'm going to have to wait to post photos.

I went to the grocery store last week & I was in the baking section & out of the corner of my eye I spotted on a display rack " Pillsbury Stars & Stripes Funfetti Cake Mix" & the frosting right next to it. It was a must have for a fun 4th of July recipe. I am going to make it on 4th of July, so the reason I am posting this now is because I just cannot wait. I am so excited to make it. I never made a Pillsbury Funfetti cake, so it's all new to me. Since I didn't make it yet, I haven't got photos to show you what I made, never mind the fact I don't have a camera. Either way if I post it after I made it or now, I'm still not going to have photos because I have no camera. So I am just basically going to post the recipe & the box of the cake mix & frosting which I found on the internet.

Pillsbury Stars & Stripes Funfetti Cake Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 box of Pillsbury Stars & Stripes Funfetti Cake mix

1 container of Pillsbury Funfetti frosting

1 cup water

1/3 cup oil (The box recommends Crisco oil but I'm going to use olive oil)

3 eggs

cooking spray, flour or butter to spread on baking pan to prevent sticking

2 cups strawberries and or raspberries for top of cake (optional).

Materials:

Baking pan 13x9-inch or two 8-inch round pans or 9-inch round pans (If you are using the 9-inch pans, cooking time changes to 27-31 minutes), or bundt pan ( If you are using the bundt pan, it takes 37-41 minutes), or cupcake tin (if using this fill 2/3 full with the batter, & it takes 18-22 minutes)

Egg whisker or mixer

Toothpick (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350'F. Grease & lightly put flour, cooking spray or butter on baking pan, In a large bowl mix cake mix, oil, water & eggs together with an egg beater or egg whisker at a low speed until it is moist. Then mix again for 2 minutes at a medium speed.

2 Then stir in candy bits ( those are the little stars & round little treats on the top of the icing container). Pour the batter into the floured & greased pan.

3. Bake at 350' for 32- 36 minutes or until you put the toothpick in the center & it comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes. Cool cake before frosting.

4. Frost cake & sprinkle the stars/candy bits on the top of cake. Store loosely covered.

I'll let you know how it is after I make it.

Did you ever try this cake mix? If so did you like it?

Let's Learn Italian Lesson 6!

2011-06-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

:Cominciamo (let's begin)

: Preposizioni Semplici (Simple Prepositions)

- a (at/to/in[a city] )

- da (from)

- di ( of/by)

- per (for)

- senza (without)

-su (on/over)

-in (in/to/into)

-con (with)

: Espressioni (expression)

-c' `e...c' `e...? (there is...is there?)

- ci sono...ci sono..? (there are..are there?)

-ecco (here (it) is, here (they) are, there (it) is, there (they) are)

- dov' `e...? (where is..?)

: Indicazioni (directions)

- a sinistra ( to the left/on the left)

- a destra ( to the right, on the right )

- lontano ( far, distant )

- qui/qua ( here)

- dritto ( straight)

- sempre dritto (straight ahead)

- vicino ( near)

- qui vicino ( nearby )

- li`/ la` ( there)

: i nomi ( nouns)

: Notes: Many of Italian nouns end in a vowel. The nouns that end in a consonant are considered foreign. Every noun in Italian has a gender which is either masculine or feminine.

: Rules :

1. Nouns ending in o are masculine, & nouns that end in a are generally feminine.
2. Nouns that end in e could be either feminine or masculine.
3. Nouns that end in zione are feminine.
4. Nouns that end with a consonant are most of the time masculine.
5. Nouns that are abbreviated have the same gender of the words in which they come from.

Italian nouns have there endings changed from plural to singular or vice versa.

                                Singolare (singular) Plurale (plural)
Maschile (masculine)        o                          i
Femminile (feminine)        a                          e
Maschile e femminile        e                          i
( masculine and feminine)

: Notes: Nouns that end in ca or ga & many nouns that end in go keep the hard sound of the c or g when they are in their plural form. This is shown by adding an h.

Nouns that end with a vowel or consonant that has an accent do not change in their plural form neither do their abbreviated words.

Words that end with io keep the i in their plural form if the i is stressed. If the i is not stressed, then the i is dropped.

: Articolo indeterminative (indefinite article)

The Italian indefinite article is similar to the English a/an & it is used with nouns that are singular. It is also similar to the number 1. To determine the form of the article really depends on the word that follows it.

- Un is used with mostly masculine nouns, but uno is paired with masculine nouns that begin with s or z + a consonant.

- Una is used with nouns that are feminine nouns that begin with any kind of consonant, & un' is used before feminine nouns that start with a vowel.

- The same rules apply for the adjective Buono(good). It also has four different ways to say it. (buon, buono, buon', buona).

: un verbo irregolare ( irregular verb)

Avere is an irregular verb , it does not follow a pattern of conjugation. The present tense (il presente) is show below:

Singolare (singular)     Plurale (plural)
(io) ho I have              (noi) abbiamo we have
(tu) hai you have         (voi) avete you have(informal)
(informal)                    (Loro) hanno you have (formal)
(Lei) ha you have        (loro)} hanno they have
(formal)
(lui) }ha he has

(lei) }ha she has

:Notes: These rules below are applicable to avere & to all Italian verbs.

:Rules:

1. If you want to make a verb negative, put the word don't right before it.

2. If you want to make a verb interrogative, just put a question mark.

3. In an interrogative sentence, the subject, noun and/or pronoun can be at the beginning of it or before the verb, or at the end of a sentence.

The i pronomi soggetto (subject pronouns) are shown below.

Singolare (singular)     Plurale (plural)
io I                                noi we
tu you (informal)             voi you (informal)
Lei you (formal)             Loro you (formal)
lui he                             loro they (masculine or feminine)
lei she

:Notes: In the Italian language the verb itself names the subject, & this reason being is why subject pronouns are generally not expressed.

Subject pronouns do have their place, they are used to stress the subject or to differ one subject from another.

Io is only capitalized when it is at the start of a sentence.

:Rules:

1. There are four ways to say you in Italian. (tu, voi, Lei, Loro. Tu (only one person) & voi (more than two/or just two) are the forms that are informal. These are used with children, family members, or close friends.

2. Lei ( third person singular verb form , male or female /one person) & (third person plural form/) are used in situations that are formal & used with acquaintances, strangers, older people, & authority figures. They are usually capitalized.

3. Loro is considered extremely formal , so voi is often in it's place as a more basic form.

:Notes: There are hardly corresponding forms that are used for it and they when referring to animals or things, the form of the verb is often used alone.

For some reason it's saying Monday when it's published on Tuesday. Why is this happening, does anybody know?

Movie Mondays #8 Niagara (1953)

2011-06-26T23:06:00.000-07:00

( I made this on Monday, but for some reason, it's saying Sunday)

Niagara is about Ray Cutler ( Max Showalter) & his wife Polly Cutler ( Jean Peters) who have their delayed honeymoon at Niagara Falls. As soon as they arrive there, they find their cabin that is supposed to be reserved for them end up taken by George Loomis (George Cotton) & his wife Rose Loomis (Marilyn Monroe). Because of the cabin being occupied by another couple, they switch to another cabin. During both the couple's stay there, they introduce each other & meet.

Meanwhile Rose & George Loomis don't have a good relationship & one day Rose is caught kissing somebody else. Rose's plan is to have her husband get killed & have her lover plot the killing on her husband. So far the plot seems simple right? It has a lot of twists & turns throughout the movie as the plot gets unraveled. It was suspenseful in a way but it wasn't the most suspenseful thriller I have ever seen. It had it's fair share of suspense though for a classic 1950's movie. I recommend it if you are into classic thriller movies.

Let's Learn Italian Lesson 5!

2011-06-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

:Cominciamo (let's begin)

F. Parole simili ( cognates)

A lot of Italian words look a lot like English words & therefore have the same or a similar meaning. These words are called cognates. The only little difference it has is the way it is spelled.

An example would be (stazione- station) & (possibile- possible)

:Notes:There is a couple patterns to look at which give you hints on how to spell the Italian version of the word. These only apply if there are a cognate, not otherwise.

1. The English ending tion gets changed to the Italian ending zione
2. The English ending ty gets changed to the Italian ending ta`
3. The English ending ous gets changed to the Italian ending oso.
4. The English ending ce gets changed to the Italian ending za.
5. The English ending ism gets changed to the Italian ending ismo.
6. The English ending ssion gets changed to the Italian ending ssione.

:Notes: Then there is words that look very similar but mean two different things & are not at all the same. These are called false cognates.

An example would be parente- which means relative- (it doesn't mean parent which it looks like it would mean that)

:Notes: There are cognates of English adjectives that do not change form in the singular.

Two examples of these would be difficile & naturale. A dot should be placed under the 2nd i in dfficile

:Notes: Then there are cognates of English adjectives that do change form when they are used in the singular.
You would use an o ending when referring to a male & an a ending when referring to a female.

Two examples of these would be famoso/a & sincero/a

: Una citta` italiana (An Italian city)

: un luogo/luoghi (place/places)

- un aeroporto (airport)

- un albergo (hotel)

- una banca (bank)

- un bar ( bar, cafe`)

- un caffe` ( strong Italian coffee); cafe`

- una chiesa (church)

- un cinema (movie theater) A dot should be placed below the i.

- una farmacia (pharmacy)

-un museo (museum)

- un negozio (shop) A dot should be placed below the first o.

- un ospedale (hospital)

- un piazza (town square)

- un ristorante (restaurant)

- una scuola (school)

- uno stadio (stadium) A dot should be placed below the a.

- una stazione (train station)

- un supermercato (supermarket)

- un teatro (theater)

- un ufficio postale (post office) A dot should be placed below the first i. Same goes for the next three that have the same word.

- un ufficio cambio (currency exchange)

- un ufficio informazioni (tourist information office)

- un ufficio prenotazioni (reservation bureau)

-un` universita` (university)

- una via (street)

- un viale (avenue)

- uno zoo (zoo)

:Mezzi di trasporto (Means of transportation)

- un aeroplano/un aereo (airplane/plane) A dot should be placed under the first e in the second word.

-un autobus/un bus (bus) A dot should be placed under the a.

- un' automobile/un'auto/una macchina (car) A dot should be placed under the o in the first word & under the first a in the third word.

- una bicicletta/una bici (bicycle, bike)

- una motocicletta/una moto (motorcycle)

- un motorino/uno scooter (moped, motorscooter)

- un treno- (train)

: in viaggio (on a trip) A dot should be placed below the a.

-bagaglio (baggage/luggage)

- una borsa (bag)

- un passaporto (passport)

- un biglietto (ticket)

- un'informazione (piece of information)

-una prenotazione (reservation)

- un viaggio (trip)

- uno zaino (backpack) A dot should be placed under the a.

-una valige (suitcase)

So Retro Saturdays #1 Retro Sunglasses Commercials.

2011-06-25T01:36:00.000-07:00

I came up with a new series called "So Retro Saturdays". If you are familiar with my blog then you know I have two other series called "Let's Learn Italian" & "Movie Mondays". I love doing these sort of series because it makes my blog more organized & easier for me to get my posts together. Plus because I talk about a variety of subjects on my blog it makes it easier for all of you to navigate to the posts that you are interested in. If you want to look at a particular post on a certain subject on my blog, my series are all right there for you on my right sidebar so you don't have to flip through all my posts.

"So Retro Saturdays" are basically posts on all vintage things whether it be fashion, commercials, home decor, celebrities, etc. I adore retro things so I can't wait to start my series!

I decided the best way to start off would be to show different commercials on vintage sunglasses. Since we are now in the season of summer, sunglasses are something important that we need to shield our eyes from the sun. This year seems to be more sunny than usual where I live, it is unbearable! I love the sun, but when it goes in my eyes, it's not something I'm a fan of. I don't really have a certain style of sunglasses that I prefer more than others but as long as they fit properly & I like the look & the color I will buy them & of course if they are a reasonable price.

Here are some retro sunglasses commercials that I found on youtube.com. :Credit given to whoever owns it/or uploaded it:.

1960's Dirk Bogarde Sunglasses Commercial

1970's Foster Grant Sunglasses Commercial (FAKE fur)

1980's Foster Grant Sunglasses Commercial

I was going to post a commercial from the 1940's or 1950's or even earlier, but unfortunately I couldn't find any. I would have loved to have those too!!!

Do you enjoy retro sunglasses commercials?

What style of sunglasses do you like?

P.S. I just wanted to say I don't condone wearing REAL fur, so in the second video they have fur coats, but to me it looks like FAKE fur.

Let's Learn Italian Lesson 4!

2011-06-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

:Cominciamo (let's begin)

E. Calendario (calendar)

: Mesi ( months)

January- gennaio * dot should be placed below the a
February- febbraio * dot should be placed below the a
March- marzo
April- aprile
May- maggio * dot should be placed below the a
June- giugno
July- luglio * dot should be placed below the u
August- agosto
September- settembre
October- ottobre
November- novembre
December- dicembre

:Terms

-Quando sei nato? / Quando sei nata? (When were you born?) * informal When asking a women you would use the feminine form ending in a. When asking a man you would use the masculine form ending in o.

-Sono nato../ Sono nata.. ( I was born..) * Same rule as above in terms of feminine & masculine.

:Notes: The day comes before the month & the names of the months in Italian are not capitalized like they are in the English language. Cardinal digits are used when writing dates expect the first day of each month which uses the word Primo ( first). An example would be il primo dicembre.

: Anni ( years)

: Notes: Italians don't express dates in pairs of two numbers as they do in English.

: Examples are 1995- millenovecentonovantacinque ( one thousand nine hundred ninety five)
2002- duemiladue- (two thousand two)

: Giorni della settimana ( days of the week)

Monday - lunedi`
Tuesday- martedi`
Wednesday- mercoledi`
Thursday- giovedi`
Friday- venerdi`
Saturday- sabato * dot should be placed below the first a
Sunday- domenica * a dot should be placed below the e

:Terms:

- Che giorno e`..? ( What day is...?)

- Oggi (today)

-Domani (tomorrow)

- Il primo- (the first)

-Che giorno e` oggi? (What day is it today?)

- Oggio e` giovedi (Today is Thursday)

-Domani e` lunedi (Tomorrow is Monday) * This one & the one before it are just examples!

:Notes: The days of the week are not capitalized in Italian & the start of the week is Monday.

: Stagioni ( seasons)

Spring- primavera
Summer- estate
Fall- autunno
Winter- inverno

:Notes: The names of the seasons don't need to be capitalized in Italian.

Movie Mondays #7 Summertime (1955)

2011-06-20T15:43:00.000-07:00

What better way to start off the summer with a movie titled "Summertime" right? I thought it would be perfect to get a nice refreshing start into summer with this wonderful classic movie. "Summertime" (1955) is a classic romantic movie centering around Jane Hudson (Katharine Hepburn) who is a lonely American women from Akron, Ohio who spends her dream vacation in Venice, Italy & finds love with a man named Renato de Rossi (Rossano Brazi). This is my first time watching a movie with the classic star Katharine Hepburn & she is a wonderful actress.

Throughout the movie, the scenery of Venice, Italy is so amazing, it makes you feel like you are there.

During her vacation, a little boy even befriends her.

I really like the dress she is wearing here!

Funny how in this picture she remind me of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast At Tiffany's, don't you think?

This scene is the firework scene, so I'm pretty sure that is why the building is lit like that from the shadow of the firework. So beautiful!!!

I recommend this because it is a wonderful & entertaining movie to watch!

Let's Learn Italian lesson 3!

2011-06-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

:Cominciamo (let's begin)
D. Numeri da uno a cento ( Numbers from one to hundred)

0 - zero    11- undici        22- ventidue     33- trentatre'
1- uno      12- dodici      23- ventitre'      40- quaranta-
3- tre       14- quattordici 25- venticinque 50- cinquanta
4- quattro 15- quindici      26- ventisei      60- sessanta
5- cinque 16- sedici         27- ventisette    70- settanta
6- sei        17- diciassette 28- ventotto      80- ottanta
7-sette      18- diciotto       29- ventinove   90- novanta
8- otto      19- diciannove 30- trenta        100- cento
9- nove     20- venti           31- trentuno
10- dieci    21-ventuno    32- trentadue

I can't write all the numbers but I gave you a brief preview of them to get the idea :)

* As I mentioned in the previous lesson a dot below the stressed vowel means irregular stress. In number 11, a dot below the u is needed. In number 12, a dot below the o is needed. In number 13, a dot below the e is needed. In number 14, a dot below the o is needed. In number 15, a dot below the first i is needed. In number 16, a dot below the e is needed. ( I am explaining this because I did not put them there. I am not sure how to place a dot under something on my keyboard, if anybody knows please tell me).

As far as accents go, there are two ways to write accent marks in the Italian language. The two ways are ` & '. They are the forward & backwards accent. (Please note I am trying my best to demonstrate the accent mark in the best possible way, but I'm not sure if I pressed the correct keys on my computer for the accent mark, please correct me if I'm wrong. They are supposed to be read as a forward accent mark & a backward accent mark). I guess you can also read them as pointing to the left or to the right, whichever is easier for you. The one pointing to the left has an open pronunciation, & the one pointing to the right has a closed pronunciation.

When -tre is the last digit of a larger number , then it has an accent mark. Examples are ventitre', & trentatre' , etc. The numbers trenta, venti, etc lose the final vowel before you add -uno, or -otto. In that case you don't combine the two vowels. If you are not adding the numbers that have a vowel then you don't need to drop it, you just keep it the way it is & add the number to it. For example if you are writing ventisette, you keep the i in venti, because the number you are adding "sette" which doesn't start with a vowel therefore you don't drop the vowel.

: Numeri di telefono ( Telephone numbers)

Italian phone numbers & area codes( prefissi) have different lengths. Italians say the area code in single digits whereas the local numbers are said in sets of two digits.

: Terms

-Nome (name)

- Cognome ( last name)

-Indirizzi (Addresses)

: Notes: Italian building numbers are longer in length than three digits. The number comes after the name of the street. The foreign addresses don't need to be translated because you give your street name in English & say the number in Italian. Addresses that are four digits are written in sets of two digits.

- Codice postale ( postal code)

- Quanto costa? ( How much is it?)

:Notes: Italy & other European countries have currency called the "euro". The plural form of "euro" is the same word. The word stands for an abbreviated form of "eurodollaro". The value of one euro is close to what an American dollar is worth.

- Piu`( more)

- Meno ( less)

We are moving fasts with these lessons. So sorry there is such a gap between the 1st & 2nd post but as I explained before I was super busy & couldn't post. I will be on more often, I promise. :) If you missed the first few lessons feel free to go to the page that says "Italian Lessons", & this way you can start from the introduction & then go to each lesson. After I post them I write each one under my Italian lessons page section so you can get access to each lesson. Enjoy!!

Happy Father's day to all the Dads out there!!

Let's Learn Italian Lesson 2!

2011-06-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

:Cominciamo (let's begin)

C. Alfabeto e suoni ( Alphabet and sounds)

Italian is a Romance language that derives from Latin. This language was the language of the ancient Romans that was spoken throughout the Roman empire. As of today, Italian is spoken in Italy by 60 million Italians, & in southern Switzerland & in other areas of the world especially the United States, South America, & Australia where a lot of Italians have immigrated.

Italian is a phonetic language, this means that it is pronounced as it is written. Although Italian & English share the same Latin alphabet, the sounds that are represented by the letters are different between these two languages. Every letter is pronounced in Italian except the letter h. The Italian alphabet consists of 21 letters, but it uses 5 additional letters with words that are of foreign origin. The ones on the right are sounds, & the ones on the left are the letters.

a a

b bi

c ci

d di

e e

f effe

g gi

h acca*

i i ( sounds like e)

l elle

m emme

                                                                  n              enne
                                                                  o              o
                                                                  p             pi
                                                                 q              cu
                                                                  r              erre
                                                                 s               esse
                                                                 t                ti
                                                                 u               u
                                                                 v               vu
                                                                 z              zeta

                                                                 5 additional letters

   j i lunga
   k    cappa
   w doppia vu
   x ics
   y ipsilon

: Vocali (vowels)

In the Italian language , the Italian vowels are a, e , i, o, & u. Vowel are pronounced differently in the Italian language than in the English language. In the Italian language, the vowels are shown in a stronger context.

a (father)

e (late) closed e* (quest) open e"

i ( marine)

o (cozy) closed o* (cost) open o*

u (rude)

: Consonanti ( Consonants)

Many Italian consonants are not very different than the words in English.

: Rules

1. If the consonants c & g come before a, o, or u, they have a hard sound.

2. If the consonants c & g & the combination sc come before e or i they have a soft sound.

3. The combinations gh, sch, & ch have a hard sound.

4. The combination gl is pronounced like ll in million, if it is before a final i & before i + vowel.

5. The combination gn is pronounced like ny in canyon.

: Consonanti doppie: (double consonants)

Every Italian consonant expect q has a corresponding double consonant. The pronunciation is different than the single consonant.

: Accent stress

:Rules

1. Many Italian words are pronounced with the next to last syllable being stressed.

2. Some words have the last syllable stressed. These words are written with the final vowel of that word having an accent mark.

3. Some words have a different syllable stressed. This is an irregular stress with a dot below the stressed vowel.

4. A couple one-syllable words have a written accent. This helps to identify them from words that are spelled & pronounced the same but mean different things. Examples are si = oneself (no accent), si = yes (no accent), & sì or così = so (yes accent)

Do you have time for blogging?

2011-05-25T04:09:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone!! How are you? Hope you are having a great week. It's nice to finally make a post after all this time. I missed you all. I am trying to get back on track with everything, but it's been very difficult.

Credit given to Dennis Hill.

To clarify why this picture is here is because of my main purpose of writing this post today which is basically me explaining to you about what's going on with my blogging. Now awhile back from the beginning I had explained I originally had 3 blogs, then I switched to 2, then finally down to 1. During that time frame, I was very busy with school, had breathing problems(still do) (so I was behind with school) & needed to catch up, & hardly had time to do a blog to begin with. My first thought about blogging was to make friends, express myself & my creativity, & gather all my interests together in a place where I could share them with others that share the same interests. I first made a simple base for my blog consisting of a blog platform, a little intro on what my blog was about, & blog title etc. I didn't follow anybody yet & nobody followed me. I barely know what html was, & I hardly knew what google friend connect was.either. I changed my title various times, & did the same thing with the templates. Meanwhile I was testing out fonts & adding different gadgets,

Before I knew it, my blog was set up. The real question is, was I ready to do a blog? I say yes & no. I was ready as far as the whole idea of blogging seemed fun, & I was very excited. In reality, what was I thinking? Between being behind in my studies because of my breathing problems & having a lot of work to do with school, I was not ready for it at all. I let the fun part of the blog take over my mind, & think it was okay to start it. LOL I started out with a couple posts here & there, & it seemed like there was big gaps in my posts. I would try to fit in time for them, but it was getting to be a struggle & not something fun. All of a sudden it started to become posts that would say that I'm busy with this & I'm busy with that, & it wasn't even really a post, but more like a busy notice. I then even started posting monthly when I got more & more busy, & it totally got out of hand. On top of that. the blog hops got very addictive & that's when I started building an audience. Then the more people commented & I commented back vice versa, which in turn made it even more fun.

I don't want to post monthly neither do I want to write busy notices & bore you with them. I want to blog daily & have fun. I feel very bad about all this because I say I'm going to post about fashion, movies, vintage, recipes, & more, when I hardly even have those posts, maybe just a few. There is so much I want to post about, but it was nearly impossible to post (see above) because of what was happening at the time. I should have never started blogging until I was available to devote my time to it. If I would have known blogging required lots of time, I would have started it much later. I didn't & that is what the problem was.

Now as we speak I am finally caught up with my work & finally finished with my report that has been lingering over me for centuries. haha )Well it sure feels like centuries). I do have school work to do, but I will make a schedule for myself & more time for everything including blogging. I promise I will try as best as I can, since I won't be as busy.

I basically wanted to explain that to you because I feel like I disappoint you if don't post daily or even weekly.
I know I always look forward to new posts by blogs I follow. I apologize for not being there a lot on my blog As of now things are going to change & be a lot different around here (in terms of making time for blogging).
So all the topics I say I am going to blog about, I really am going to blog about, because I now can devote my time to it, & it is great. I am so happy about this.

Stay tuned for brand new posts coming up!!

♥

Chicken Soup For The Pet Lover's Soul : Book Review

2011-02-26T14:40:00.000-08:00

I just finished this book which I have been reading for awhile now. As I was reading through the pages of the book, I came across the reading a little different than most books are. Usually in most books it's ONE story with chapters, well in this book there are short stories(including chapters) about animals narrated by people. I had to get used to the setup of it. Once I got used to it, it was easier for me to navigate through it. There are many chapters in the index part of the book, & they are labeled different titles all associated with what the topic is of each chapter. There is a chapter on the loss of pets, companionship & much more. Basically the book covers all aspects of animal/human interaction. I found this book to be really heartwarming in some ways, but in others ways sad. I would say there are more inspiring stories then sad stories so it's worth the read. If you love, cats, dogs, gorillas, etc, then I recommend this wonderful book.

How are Italians represented in the media?

2011-02-24T01:46:00.000-08:00

Now there may be different interpretations about this question I'm asking, & probably there are going to be different ideas & opinions too. That is fine.

When you think of Italians, what comes to mind? Friendly, warm, family-oriented, loves to eat, country shaped like a boot right? Well that is not how the media thinks of us. To the media I think we are considered gangsters & we portray the image of Italian as negative people. Any movie with an Italian often refers to someone tough & in the mafia. I never see hardly anything positive with an Italian cast present.

I am TIRED of this negative image of us. Why can't we ever be portrayed in a positive way? I would love to see a nice positive Italian movie with a nice Italian family, without having some mafia involved wouldn't you? Yes everybody knows the mafia exists, but do you have to dwell on it? It is a negative aspect of our heritage, but that's just ONE aspect. Nobody is perfect, but I think the media should show what the good roles of Italians are instead of casting us as negative roles.

Another thing that bothers me is when somebody is playing an Italian role, they don't have an Italian play it. They have a person that is not Italian play the role. That is fine because you don't have to be a certain nationality to play a role, but the issue is when there is an Italian role that is tough & mafia like, then we are the FIRST ones to get cast the role. I just don't understand & the thing that gets me is why would an Italian want to play a role like that? It only shows negativity towards us & basically puts our culture down a notch. Here we are again cast as stereotypes.

I think we should get more opportunities in this world to be cast in a positive image & show what it truly means to be Italian.

Italians & non-Italians, what are your opinions on this? I would love to know what you think.

History Of Makeup/Cosmetics

2011-01-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, about a few posts ago I did a makeup tag & I realized that I want to do a post about the history of makeup. I'm not sure if some people think history is interesting or not, I think it's so fascinating & I'm sure there are people out there that love history. Now I never really thought about the history of makeup/cosmetics. Well I guess it never dawned on me how it came about, but recently I thought about how cool to see what it was like years ago, or even what year people first wore makeup. I am not going to cover every aspect of makeup because I don't want to bore you with things you may already know. I just want to give you a little background about it.

The first evidence of cosmetics being used was found in Egypt around 3500 BC during the Ancient Egyptian times. Royalty of the Ancient Egyptians used make up such as Nefertiti, mask of Tutankhamun, Nefertari, etc. They used cosmetics along with the Greeks & Romans. The Ancient Egyptians & Romans however used cosmetics that contained ingredients that were not safe. These ingredients were lead & poisonous mercury. In the Middle Ages makeup was looked down upon by Church leaders, but women continued wearing makeup anyway. A popular way to use makeup in the Middle Ages was to apply pastes of chalk, flour or lead, or bloodletting to make their skin have a fair complexion. They would also use another way to achieve that look by putting ceruse on their face.

Not only was it looked down upon in the Middle Ages, but it was also like that in Western history. In the 19th Queen Victoria decided that the use of makeup was considered not proper at all, & only considered it something to be used for actors to use. In the 19th century women liked to be known as very fragile & delicate. They wanted to appear pale & of be interesting. They sometimes used some blush on their cheeks & used a plant called "belladonna" to make their eyes dilated so they would stand out more. It was very looked down upon in the 1870's especially since social etiquette became more by the book.

Actresses & famous beauties like Lillie Langtry & Sarah Bernhardt used powered makeup. Most of these products were still made of chemicals & berries, beetroot, food colorings that were found in kitchens. In the middle of the 20th century cosmetics were used all around the world by women. Cosmetics have been used for thousands of years. Unfortunately because of hardly any regulations on them, there were side effects. Some of the negative side effects from them were blindness, death & deformities. Some examples of the cosmetics that caused these side effects were ceruse that was used to make the face more fair during the period of the Renaissance & the other one was blindness that was caused by the mascara called "Lush Lure" in the 20th century.

The cost of production of makeup today estimates to be about $19 billion. The largest makeup company is L' Ore'al. During the 20th century the use of cosmetics has really increased over the years. Young girls use makeup in the United States sometimes starting at a really young age. Since there had been a lot of young people using makeup,various high end brands such as Rimmel & Estee Lauder starting gearing towards packaging some of their products with glitter, flavoring lip glosses/ lipsticks, & using young models for advertisement on their packaging.

Concerns about using cosmetics has come from a wide variety of people such as religious groups, animal rights activists, authors, feminists,etc. There has been awareness about the health concerns of cosmetics. There is toxic ingredients in some especially petroleum, any kind of parabens (could link to cancer), & sodium lauryl sulfate (can cause a couple of skin issues such as dermatitis etc). The prolonged use of makeup can cause thinning eyelashes. Sometimes even fragrances used in these products can cause allergies. Following the health concerns with these products cosmetic companies are coming out with all natural products with not any harmful ingredients. These all natural products contain plant & mineral ingredients. In order for the product to be considered really organic it must be certified USDA Organic.

The cosmetic industry has grown in so many parts of the world such as the United States, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, etc. After the United States, Japan is the second leading makeup industry with Germany coming in at 3rd. The Italian cosmetic industry also has an important role in this as well. The Italian makeup industry doesn't focus on makeup like some other European countries do, they focus on more body & hair products. In Italy body & hair products make up about 30% of the makeup industry.

The European Commission & the FDA are the two main groups that are in control of making laws about the concerns of cosmetics & it's aspects within the European Union. In the European Union cosmetic products & the safety of them have been subjects of law since 1976. The FDA teamed up with 13 other Federal agencies to form the (ICCVAM) in 199. This was done to ban animal testing & to search for other ways to test cosmetic products.This has been banned in the European Union since Sep, 2004. Testing separate ingredients on animals has been banned by law since March, 2009.

The cosmetic industry now has been even more popular. Not only can you buy cosmetics in stores, but you can purchase them online. It has been around for thousands of years, & yet it keeps continuing to develop around the world.

Movie Mondays #6 : Pride & Prejudice (2005)

2011-01-10T17:58:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, how are you? Sorry I haven't been on in the past week, I have been super busy with my personal life. I really want to thank you for all the positive feedback I received on my previous post. You are all so sweet!! I haven't did "Movie Mondays" in awhile, so I thought it would be best to do it for this post. Lately I have been into "Victorian Period Films". I always was hesitant to venture into this genre of film because I assumed they all had complicated love stories intertwined in their themes. Well, I was wrong. I love these type of films. It may seem complicated but if you look closely at what the plot entails,it is easier than it appears to be. (Sorry the pics may appear small, they wouldn't get any bigger)

This movie "Pride & Prejudice" is based on a Jane Austen novel. The main idea of the story focuses on

five sisters Jane, Elizabeth, Kitty, Mary, Lydia Bennet in Georgian England. If Mr. Bennet dies then the house they live in will be inherited by a distant cousin. Basically their lives are dependent on whom they marry. A rich man named Mr. Bingley movies in the area where the Bennet sisters reside. He brings his sister & Mr. Darcy along with him. Soon love blossoms between Elizabeth ( Keira Knightly) & Mr. Darcy ( Matthew Macfadyen) & between Jane ( Rosamund Pike) & Mr. Bingley ( Simon woods)

The movie is not just your average love story where a man & a women meet & fall in love. It has a lot of emotion between their love relationships dealing with their rank of class, scandal, & finding true love within their hearts. I think it is a wonderful film. The acting is great & their costumes are amazing. I love the films where it looks like they stepped out of the old era. Overall if you are into these type of films, I suggest this one. I had a great opportunity to view this for free on youtube.com. If you are interested try typing in the title of the film & you may just find it still on youtube.com.

Hope you have a wonderful week!!

I'm going to eat right now, so I'll be back a little later to view your blogs & finish approving comments (Sorry on the delay on that & I also apologize for my comment section having the code word thing., but I have been getting tons of spam lately, so I felt it was necessary to have that).

7 Tips For Being Successful In Life!!

2011-01-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

Success is not something that comes instantly. When you think of the word "Success" what comes to mind? Maybe you think it means having lots of money or you may think it means that you should have the best job? In order to be successful in this world, one must take certain steps. There is not one road with the word "Success" written all over it, success comes in many forms.

Today I'm going to tell you my "7 Tips For Being Successful In Life". Please note this is what I follow & I am sharing my tips. You may not follow the same steps, but that is okay. Everybody has their own way of life, & I'm perfectly fine with that. I have not lived my full life, but in order to live it I am going to follow these tips. This is how I feel that you can be successful in life.

1. Know what you want in life. Plan ahead,don't hesitate to make the first move. In order to get somewhere you can't sit there & do nothing. You have to be a go-getter. Don't let life come at you, you make your own life happen. It's your life & you can make it however you want.

2. Don't let fear stop you. Fear is our ultimate barrier in this universe, sometimes fear hinders us from following our dreams. If we let fear hold us back, we are preventing ourselves from experiencing what life holds for us. Face the fear, don't let it take you over.

3. Have confidence & believe in yourself. You must believe that you are capable of many things. You can't put yourself down or say you are not good enough. If you do that, you will get nowhere in life. You have to stay strong & have willpower to know you can do many things.

4. Don't let others bring you down. Sometimes when we let others say things that may hurt our feelings & in our minds we think they have a place in our world. They don't. Never let anybody bring you down erase them out of your world. Pretend they don't exist. If you let others bring you down, it will turn into a haystack of negativity & you won't be happy. Know yourself & know that what others think doesn't matter. As long as you know who you are, then you are right on track.

5. Don't give up. Have strength to know that everything may not always work on the first try. It doesn't mean you should give up either. Again this takes confidence to try again, to have faith that it will work.

6. Live the life you want. I know some people want to live other people's lives & that's not what we are meant to do in this world. Don't take other people's paths, follow your own. It's the best thing you can do. Don't try to recreate somebody's life with your own doings. You are you & remember there is only one you. You may want to live somebody's life to escape your own. Don't, that's the worst thing you can do. Don't run away from your own life & try to live another person's life instead.

7. Have faith that everything will work out. If you think positive what you want in life will be sure to come. If you think negative as I mentioned before you won't go anywhere in life. Turn the negative thought into a positive. Everyone has potential in this world & having faith that what you do with you life such as where you will live, what career you will have, etc plays a big role in your life.

So now that we gone through my 7 steps. We know that money or having the best job does not always mean being successful. Success comes from what you DO & NOT what you have. Life is a journey & it's a long road as we all know. If we take it with stride, then we can begin our journey on the right path & on the road to success.

I hope you enjoyed this & are welcome to incorporate some of these steps into your life as well.

Hope you all have a great week!

This or That ? Beauty/Makeup Tag + a Happy New Year To All.

2011-01-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone! It's the New Year already, I can't believe it. It seems like only yesterday it was 2010, how in the world did a year fly by so fast? I'm happy it's the New year because to me it's a fresh start. A fresh start to me means positive things happening, lots of happiness,& of course New Year resolutions.

I decided to start the New Year off with something light & something I have never did before. I found this beauty/makeup tag on youtube awhile back called "This or That". It's basically a little tag where you show different options in products that you would choose either a beauty product or a makeup product. Out of the two products you are given you choose which one best suits you. I don't remember who's youtube it was that I saw it on, but credit goes to the person who started it.

This is actually the first beauty/makeup post on my blog thus far. I'm excited to share with you this tag. Anybody who wants to participate in it please feel free to.

This or That ? Beauty/Makeup Tag

Bright nail polish or lighter creamy nail polish?

I would go with the lighter creamy nail polish because I have an olive complexion & creamy colors go best with my skin tone compared to the darker colors.

Eyeliner or Mascara?

I would have to go with eyeliner. I have really long lashes as it is, so I feel mascara makes them too long, so I would rather choose eyeliner.

Lipstick or Lip gloss?

I would choose lipstick. I am not a lip gloss person , even though some lip glosses smell really good, it feels all sticky on my lips & I don't like it. Whereas lipstick goes on without having your lips feel sticky.

Eyeshadow or Blush?

I actually really like both. Since I have to choose I'll go with blush.

Neutral makeup or a touch of color?

I would say both depending on what colors I'm wearing. I think makeup with a touch of color is better because it brings the features of your face out a little better than a neutral color. I sort of feel like with a neutral color it feels like you have hardly anything on.

I hope you all have a fantastic New Year!
Feel free to do the tag if you want.