The Little Stranger – Film Review and a Reread

I read ‘The Little Stranger’ by Sarah Waters over seven years ago before I started my blog and reread it this month when the film adaptation was released in the UK. Set in the Warwickshire countryside in the late 1940s, … Continue reading →

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Ladder Workout for my Libras!

Happy Libra season!

You are kind, gentle, and love things to be as harmonious as possible. You generally love people. BUT, sometimes you find it hard to say “no” because you don’t want to disappoint anyone. Well, now it’s your turn to do the asking. This month I want you to ask 1 buddy to try this Libra workout with you. Your friend may resist – they may fight you and say “nooooooooo!!!!!” themselves, but in the end, you’ll both be blissed out from all of the endorphins!

Your Sweat Horoscope:

You love making connections with people, no matter where you are, even when you’re working out! So if you want to stay on track, then invite a buddy to push through this ladder challenge with you!

Your workout:

Are you ready for your Libra Ladder Challenge?

Climb from 1 rep to 10 reps and then back down to 1. In your first round, you’ll be doing 1 rep of each move. In your second round, 2 reps of each move. 10 reps each for the tenth round and back down to 9 reps each for the eleventh round until you reach the 1 rep!

#1. Star Abs

Begin on your back with arms stretched over your head and legs stretched out forward! Then using your core, pull your knees into your chest as you sit up!

#2. Push Up To Side Plank

You can totally do this move on your knees too. Make sure to keep your knee straight – in line with your spine – as you push down and up! When opening up to your side plank, stack the upper arm in line with the bottom arm.

#3. Plie Jumps

Begin in a wide plié, then jump up as high as you can and land back in a plié. You thighs will DEFINITELY be burning.

#4. Single Legged Dead Lift 

Begin standing with 1 leg lifted. Then lean forward and try as best as you can to reach your hands to the ground as you tip forward with leg extended long! Keep your spine straight!

#5. Super Girl Lifts

Such a great move for the back. Begin on your belly and then lift up your quads and your chest and arms as high as you can! Hold for a sec before going back down.

There you have it my Libras! If you want to see the entire printable, check out my Pinterest! I can’t believe there are only a few more months until we finish the entire Zodiac series! WHAT!!???

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Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

‘Ghost Wall’ is Sarah Moss’s sixth novel which tells the story of Silvie, a teenage girl spending her summer in a remote area of Northumberland taking part in an “experiential” archaeological experiment in which the participants attempt to recreate the … Continue reading →

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Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari

‘Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow’ is the follow-up to the hugely successful ‘Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind’ by Yuval Noah Harari which I read last year. Having examined the development of humans in his first book through … Continue reading →

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Normal People by Sally Rooney

‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney tells the story of teenagers Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron who go to school together in the small rural town of Carricklea in the west of Ireland and later move to Dublin to study at … Continue reading →

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Need a safe place to ask questions and not be judged?

Hey guys!

Social media is changing so much everyday. Back in 2010/2011, it felt like a place where I could really get to know people for who they really were – not just who they appeared to be online. Also, not everyone was on the internet yet. So in a weird way, posting something to Facebook or even YouTube still felt private. Now, anything you post can be seen by your parents, your employers and random people who have no shame in leaving mean comments all over the place!

So, if you feel the same, but want to still find that tight knit community feeling, I have a solution!

Have you heard of private Facebook groups? No, they’re not the regular fan pages that you’re probably already following. They’re private groups that are only open by invitation. And I’m personally inviting you to join our very own special club…The POPster Portal!

What is it? It’s an exclusive, safe and private place for you to get to know each other, ask each other questions and motivate each other to reach your goals! The point is – I never want you to feel weird or ashamed about sharing something. I want you to make genuine friendships. This is an open forum for you guys to talk to each other about pretty much anything that’s on your mind. Best part? None of it will show up in your friends’ feeds. (Yeah like before and after transformations that may not be so safe for work?!)

Oh and just to be clear, it’s totally free.

With our 4+ million POPsters on YouTube and over 1.2 million on Facebook and 1.4 million on Instagram, I admit that even I sometimes feel a little lost. So I completely understand if you’ve ever felt a little unheard. Well, no more. Because right now our private POPster Portal only has 2,000 POPsters and everyone can answer anyone’s questions! You don’t need to wait around for me. It’s your own private community where everyone is SEEN!

I’ll also personally be in there sharing stuff I won’t normally share on the regular social media channels too! I love getting raw, getting vulnerable, and learning more about you guys.

See you in there!

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Bridal Shower Shenanigans!

Hey guys!

We are officially 1 month out from the wedding and guess what…we just solidified our officiant! Ha. What a scare. I think that’s usually one of the first things people secure! I am so relieved that pretty much everything is set. I just need to do the calligraphy for all of the the signage, pick up my wedding dress, and make sure we don’t forget to pack the car with anything I’ve specifically bought for the wedding!

Oh and tables are getting finalized right now. Waiting for a few more guest RSVPs and then I’m gonna lock it in! As in…I’m gonna hand-calligraphy everyone’s name on a gigantic piece of acrylic alphabetized by last name that will be displayed beautifully on a golden easel that I spray painted.  And if anyone last minute decides to bring a different plus one or change their RSVP all together I WILL BE SO BOTHERED. SOOOO BOTHERED.

Anyway! Let’s not worry about things that haven’t happened (yet). Right now, I want to share with you a photo story from this weekend’s bridal shower!

First off, it was incredible to have both my mom and grandma with me at the shower! My grandma flew all the way in from Vietnam and is staying in the states until the wedding! I regret not practicing my Vietnamese because it is really hard for me to communicate with her. The sad reality is that growing up, I was ashamed to know another language other than English, so I chose not to practice Vietnamese with my parents. Such a stupid thing to do. It’s almost like deciding to cut off one of your limbs. Seriously, I urge you to embrace your heritage and practice your language. It’s your identity. Don’t lose it.

My sister planned the entire event and worked soooooo hard to make sure I loved every aspect of the Bridal Shower! She made sure we had fun activations like DIY flower crowns from The Crown Collective, an acai bowl station from Amazebowls, and a toooonnnn of cool bridal-y games!!

My sister is the best! She went above and beyond for the event. I feel bad that I have such high expectations (for everybody, including me) so I think she felt super pressured to impress. She barely got any sleep the week leading up to the event! No matter what, Jackelyn won’t let herself do less than a phenomenal job, and PHENOMENAL she did!

Not only does it look good…it TASTES GOOD.

One of the bridal games included Project Runway with toilet paper. This one is called “The Exorcist Bride.”

Sir George got dressed up for the event too! Look how dapper he is, my little baby!

So! The nails. These were supposed to be the wedding day nails! But when I went to the salon on Friday, I didn’t have any bridal shower inspired nail pics on Pinterest so I told them to paint this lace design for me. AND OMG I don’t think my nails have ever looked prettier!!! I love it!!! Plus it’s all in gel, so it’s not chipping. Nope, not even those little thin lines! But now my problem is…how do I top it for the wedding? Is it even possible!!???

Pretty cupcakes in the color of my flower crown. A must obvi.

These are all of the Ho cousins! From left to right, it’s my little sister Jackelyn, then my cousin Carolyn who is the owner of The Crown Collective and that’s her baby Willow who has BLUE EYES and dark hair (OMG – the dream), me, and then my cousin Christine!

Oh and that balloon aisle was TOTALLY Jackelyn’s idea! I helped her make them the night before. Lots of tissue paper, cutting, and taping over and over and over again til 2am. Tired, but totally worth it.

My childhood friends Cory, Sue, and Amy flew in all the way across the country to come see me for the shower! We grew up together through middle school and high school. So many memories. So much drama around AP tests and boys. Love them.

Some new friends that I met in my adult life! It’s Molly, Rosanna, and Laura! So grateful for them because it’s really hard to find kind and trustworthy friends when you’re older.

Finally a group shot of the cool women in my life! HOORAY!

For those of you wondering about my outfit, it is the FP One Clarisse Set from Free People. I AM IN LOVE WITH IT. I MIGHT AS WELL GET MARRIED IN IT. It comes in both White and Rust. It’s super duper long! I probably should have cut some fabric off the skirt before I wore it! Even with 4″ heels it was dragging. I am 5′ 5″ and was wearing an XS.

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Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Translated from the Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori, ‘Convenience Store Woman’ by Sayaka Murata tells the story of Keiko Furukura, a socially awkward woman in her mid-thirties who has been working at the Hiiromachi Station Smile Mart shop for the … Continue reading →

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