Glass Castle Review

The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls

Normally, I am not a fan of nonfiction writing: however, this memoir was one of the most fascinating pieces of literature that I have ever read.

First of all, it is important to understand the difference between a memoir and an autobiography. While they both serve the same purpose of telling ones story, a memoir uses elements of a narrative. This makes them a little bit more interesting to read, at least in my opinion.

Jeannette Walls story is one that takes you around the United States. Her family lived a nomadic life style for many years, supposedly evading the mafia. For most of her early childhood, she lives in the western half of the country (primarily in the desert.)

This memoir talks about her family and how they survived against great odds. It showcases her perseverance through her childhood and into adulthood. There is a lot to learn about life and the value of love within a family in Walls writing.

I like to call this the "best worst" book that I have ever read. Walls writing is flawless and will captivate the reader. This book was assigned to me as one of my final assignments in high school and many of the students enjoyed it. The Glass Castle is not a book that is easily put done. The story being told is captivating and will have you rooting on Jeanette and her siblings.

While reading, it made me think a lot about family. Due to their lifestyle, Jeannette does not have many friends which causes her to be closer to her parents. Even though she has a clear love for her family, she is able to vocalize her frustrations. Her mother is an artist that most of the time refuses to work. Her father is an alcoholic who wastes the families money on booze.

Despite the fact that she is frustrated with her current situation, she always makes the best of it. She tries to suck it up and say that her father has never let her down. After all, she is his biggest fan.

When reading this book, it is easy to see how awful her parents were. How they did not provide proper food and shelter. Yet there is a bigger picture to the story. Jeannette grows stronger in the face of adversity. She does not allow for anyone to take away her dreams or aspirations.

On a rating scale, I would easily give The Glass Castle all five stars. If you are looking for a nonfiction piece to add into the mix, I would definitely recommend this.

If you are interested in purchasing this book, here is the Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/Glass-Castle-Memoir-Jeannette-Walls/dp/074324754X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465238840&sr=1-1&keywords=the+glass+castle

Also, remember to use your local library. It's Free! 

Book Buying

I have been on a major book buying kick over the past six months that was sparked by a variety of Youtubers. However, I'm not much into paying full price for anything- especially bindings of paper. So I am here to tell you about my three favorite places to buy books online. These are in order of how much I adore shopping there.
Number 1:

This is absolutely my favorite place to buy books online for a number of reasons. Reason one - after spending only $10, your shipping is free! And spending $10 is pretty easy if you love books as much as I do. The prices on their site range from $3.50 onwards to full price. (Of course I don't pay full price.) Of course for the books to be so cheap, they are used. However, I think that used books are by far the best books.

One of the nice things about buying books off of their site is that it lists the condition of the book that you are buying. Whether that be excellent, good, or acceptable. Depending on your preference, the price will change. Often times when you go to your cart. they will try to get you to buy a book in a lesser condition because it is better for the environment. That's your own decision to make. All in all, this is a very user friendly way to shop. And did I mention, for every $50 you spend, you get 15% off. Yeah, I have one of those waiting on me. :)

Number 2:

AbeBooks is what got me started on book buying in the first place. They have some ridiculously amazing prices for very recent releases. However, they do not ship all of your books together. AbeBooks is a collection of book sellers from around the world. Many of them offer free shipping, which is a great draw. Yet there is really no guarantee that you will get your books in the 3 day end of the scale. Anyways, when shopping on there site, I recommend to use as much information as you know. For example, if you know both the title AND author of the book you want SEARCH FOR BOTH. Due to their vast inventory, you offer have a lot to look through when you get your search results.

Part of the fun of shopping with AbeBooks is that you will get a lot of different packages. I love tearing them over to see which book is in which box. Since they are being sent from different sellers in different regions, you never know! I highly recommend checking this site if you really only need one specific book. Normally, I find the best prices are on here but end up placing my larger orders on Thriftbooks for the convenience of getting one package and working towards 15% off. 

Number 3:

Many Youtubers will talk about Bookoutlet as their favorite place to buy books. However, it lands at my number 3 spot because of shipping. I hate paying for shipping! In my opinion, all websites should offer a way to earn free shipping and there is no way to on their website. To start off, shipping is a solid $3,99, which is more than some of their books (this drives me CRAZY.) After that, shipping will rise in various increments. I do like that they offer some different categories of books such as scratch and dent and signed. Ironically, I ordered a scratch and dent book because it would be half the price of the book being in perfect shape, and it was signed. BONUS!

This site does sell NEW books. So if you are a person who does not want to buy a used book then the previous two websites are not for you. All of the books on this website come in perfect condition (except for scratch and dent) and with the exception of a red line drawn on the pages on the outside. It does not affect the integrity of the book.

These are definitely my favorite places to buy books online. Normally, I can stick to my rule of thumb of paying less than $5.00 a book by shopping on these sites. Next time, I will tell you how I go about buying books in stores.   

App Review: Wanelo

Wanelo: Want, Need, Love

I know my last two posts have been very deep and insightful and as much as I have enjoyed writing them, I did state in my revamp post that I was still going to talk about products and fashion and all of that jazz. I think one of my favorite things right now is Wanelo. If you don't have this app, I suggest it and here is why:

I find Wanelo through a related post on Pintrest and thought, "what the heck is that?" So I downloaded the app and this cute little icon came up on my tablet

You go through the process of making an account which pretty much consist of your basic information and email. Everything is completely free (my kind of app!). Then, you are asked to follow stores. Here is a list of some stores that I am following if you need any ideas:

• Forever 21
• Rue 21
• Cotton On
• Reason Clothing
• Skreened

After that, you will have a feed from these stores showing their products. It's nice because it will show a picture, the price, the store, and if you select the picture, it will take you directly to the product on it's website for purchase through an in-app browser.

I really like this app over Pintrest because of the clear price. It's hard for me when I am on Pintrest to find an amazing shirt and then find out that it costs $100. I don't have that kind of money!

The only two complaints that I have for this app is that I can't reorganize my boards. I have 600+ products on my board and now that I actually have money and I am trying to go back and buy this stuff it is really hard to find it. My other complaint I finding things that are no longer available. I understand that the people who run the app probably cannot control this but it gets really annoying.

Anyways, I would really recommend this app to anyone who times to sit on their couch and look at clothes, jewelry, shoes, or nick knacks online. This app has literally EVERYTHING that you can think of.

The Who's and What's of Your Make Up Routine

It's come to my attention just how much time I ap end throughout the week putting on make up. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing as I enjoy the process. I like being able to try new looks, experiment with new color schemes, and spend the time on myself (as selfish as that may sound.) But there is something important to remember when putting on your make up; the who and why..
Who are you wearing for?
Make up can be used for a lot of different reasons. We use it to cover up dark circles, acne, unsightly blemishes, redness, uneven tone, and to impress others. Yet the real person that we should be warning it for is ourselves. There are plenty of people who will see you on the street and I am sorry to say, they are just not going to notice that wing eyeliner you spent 20 minutes perfecting. It's the plain truth. It can be perfect and awardable but people aren't looking for the fine details in life.
And I want to put it out there now girls, guys are blind to our efforts. I have a story for this. So two christmases ago I spent a whole hour PERFECTING my Christmas Eve look. My hair was perfectly straight, as in no curve at all anywhere. I spend a solid half an hour on my make up making sure it was from a magazine. I looked straight off the page. I felt like a model and thought that everyone was going to notice because I looked like those girls. And by everyone, only my boyfriend at the time mattered. It was long distance and he said "nice." Nice? Nice! After laboring over myself for all of that time all he had to say was nice.
This is why you should do your make up for yourself. Not for your friends, and especially not for any guy. If you are impressed with how you look, then you are going to truly feel complimented. It first feel nice for people to say you look good but relying on people to compliment your make up is bound to leave you disappointed. You should wear the make up that you feel the prettiest in. If you feel pretty with the make up you have on, you have achieved the purpose of wearing it.
The who of you wear make up for should always be you.
But the why is a little trickier.
I already said that there are things to cover up, but why else do we wear it. To personify. We feel that the amount of bronzer, blush, and liner, we apply is what will make people see us as the person we want to be. If you are an avid reader of Seventeen, like myself, they list out different make up looks to show off different personalities. They have fun, girly, sweet, strong, etc. What does your make up have to do with who you are? Why is it that the make up we wear is the indicator of the personality we have? It doesn't.
I think that we should all ask ourselves why we are putting on our make up each morning before we do it. It's important that we are in check we our reasoning behind everything, especially the outward actions we partake in. For me, the why is that I like having darker lashes, redder cheeks, and darker eye lids (plus the occasional red lip.) The reason is not to impress anyone. I could honestly care less what anyone else thinks of how my make up looks. I wear it because I think it makes me look good. And on days when I don't wear it, I still feel like a million dollars. I guess I'm lucky that I can go through a day without wearing any make up when i have friends that can't.
Even though the why of wearing make up for me is to feel pretty, I want to make sure that everyone understands wearing make up should not be the deciding factor on whether or not you feel beautiful. Everyone feels beautiful in a different way. I want to encourage everyone to look the way that makes them feel their very best. Nobody can tell you what that is. Finding your personal style is a journey that you most commit to. It takes time and courage but I can promise you that it is worth it. No magazine, blog, Youtuber, or friend will ever be able to tell you what makes you feel your absolute prettiest but you.
I hope that you can take the time to ask the who's and why's to your make up routine. At the end of the day, your make up arsenal is there for you and not to impress the rest of the world. Have fun with exploring all of the different style options there are and enjoy yourself because make up is suppose to be fun!

Girls and their Standards

   I remember when we were all 6 year olds and we were realizing that we weren't going to marry Cinderella's Prince Charming and we would have to actually set standards for ourselves. And as we grow and mature they change from physical to inward and we develop this list. And this list is wholesome and strong before we have our first relationship because we have total faith in guys. We have faith in finding a guy who will text us a good morning paragraph and take us on picnics. Then, we get into the real world and realize the truth.
   The truth is we are too impressionable. I remember my first list of standards and the notebook it would have taken to write out. And I remember my first boyfriend and how that one guy changed all my standards for the worse.
   Let's just say that it is true that eventually we will all find a guy to treat us like the Princesses that we are. And don't start with the "my past doesn't make me worthy" because I will beg to differ. You see, especially as teenagers, we are at a place where the males our age aren't thinking about the same kind of relationship that we are and this leads to a huge conflict. We become passive because we are all told that being single stinks. Especially with media shoving the relationships being a necessity down our throats. We give up our day dreams and sink below level ground with the male species to make sure that we get what we see on ABC Family (because if you're not following one of their shows, who are you?)
   Anyway, we don't have patience and we let go of these high hopes and we settle for the very minimum of what guy will give us. I'm guilty of it and so many people around me are too that do not even see it, They can't. We use excuses to blind ourselves and hide the fact that we are selling ourselves short of what we are worth. I think the saddest part is that sometimes, you can do this consciously and not end the relationship.
I was disappointed from day one. I didn't like how I was being treated or the answers I was being given to the questions I asked. From the very first day the interaction between us was unsatisfying to my needs for intellect and conversation. Yet I stayed for longer than I should yet luckily not long enough to do any harm.
   But what is it that makes girl so desperate to find romance that we will give up everything that we are searching for? I can't tell you the right answer. Or the scientific truth. But I can tell you that being desperate for love doesn't make you look good. That crawling to a guy just to keep "In a relationship" on a profile is never going to get you the relationship that you really want. Because it's at these moments when you're standards have dissolved to nearly nothing.
   What happened to the standards that we use to have before our hearts were broken? The long lists of things that our boyfriend MUST do our we would certainly dump him. Where did they go? Since when was it okay to let in all of these excuses. When did we start crossing things of like controlling and sex before marriage. Sure, culture is that way but why do we have to be. Or this whole thing how guys can pick what we do with our lives. For goodness sakes we're teens!
   I wish we could go back to when our visions of how teenage boys weren't so tainted and then maybe we could hold up the high standards that we use to have. But instead, I guess we are left with a fight on our hands. Instead of easily saying what we want and saying goodbye the moment that we don't get it, we settle and it's wrong. We are all special and we deserve the very best. And maybe we can't find the very best right now and we need to recognize that it's okay.
   So instead of settling for the things that are not too much to ask for, why don't we bring back our standards that were high and had expectations? Why don't we start looking for guys who will leave us alone for girls night, keep date night at the top of their schedule, watch The Notebook, meet our parents, hold our hands in public, make "us" public, and go on walks. Why don't we ask for the little things beyond texting and a date every now and then. We can make these standards, keep these standards, and not settle for anything less.

Change of Plans

So I know that I haven't been blogging in a while and honestly, I realized last night that I really missed it. I guess the reason that I stopped is that I had ran out of ideas and felt that it was really hard to find so many topics just about clothes and beauty. Frankly, I have a lot more to say than that and I think that ditching Velvet Laughter for a 5th blog (because I am a ship jumper) would be a little bit ridicolous.)
So instead of jumping off and starting over I am going to be expanding Velvet Laughter to cover a lot more topics then just fashion. I hope to have my first post up within the next 24 hours to make this move get moving. I really am excited to expand my range if topics and hope that you guys have a great time reading it.

No More Straightner

Teachers are finally giving us the "rest of the year" speeches and I could not be any more excited. It's time for summer. Or summertime. I guess it works both ways.
I have a super busy summer approaching as I am vacationing/church camping/sweet 16 partying/excersing my pool pass. On top of all of that, I am working to have my first novel ready for editting before I return to school. Yeah, I don't rest too much.
But I have been wanting to post about a big change in my life beauty wise. Since January 1st, I have only used heat to style my hair ONCE.
Before this year I was an avid straightner user. I straightened my hair nearly everyday but wanted it longer. I never understood why it wouldn't grow any faster. As it turns out, these bloggers are right. Not using heat has improved the health of my hair dramatically.
The hardest part of this transistion was becoming adapted to the awkward wacves in my hair. I had never liked the flair of the ends on the right side of my head, nor the way the left turnee under. As it turns out, I actually love my hair. Having it naturally dry and then brush (wet hair is more susceptable to breakage) has done wonders. It is growing much faster now and looks a million times better.
I definately reccomend kissing heat products goodbye for the majority of the time. I will be using a curling iron for my party and homecoming but I hope not to more than that. It feels great to be able to do 3 minutes of work and have someone compliment my hair.