Category Archives: All Posts

5 Things to Try This Month – February 2021

02/15/2021 Shirley

When I think of February, I usually immediately associate it with birthdays for my brother, friends, colleagues and myself.

However, this year when I think of February, I think about traveling. In fact, I think about Las Vegas, the last place I traveled to in February 2020, exactly 12 months ago. And I miss traveling; I miss the time when I could go anywhere without worrying about the pandemic.

Although I can’t go anywhere just yet, I can still fill my staying home with things I enjoy. Below are the things I am doing this month.

Nail

Instead of my usual red nails, I decide to go with orange color for a change.

(The nails for this month.)

Painting

I had so much fun working on my first paint-by-number art project last month. I am going to work on my 2nd one, Venice by Night, in February. Below is what I draw so far. I am looking forward to see my final product.

(This is the second paint-by-number painting I am working on. This will keep me busy for a while.)

Piano

The new song I am learning this month is Frédéric Chopin’s Etude, Op. 10: No. 3 in E Major. This song is also known as “Tristesse” or “Farewell”. Some sources claim that Chopin believed that this song is the most beautiful song he ever composed. I think this is a beautiful song, but I found it to be challenging to learn (especially the middle section of the song).

(This is the new classic piano song I am learning this month.)

Accessories

I haven’t had any chance to dress up or wear any stylish boots since the pandemic started last year. But when I came across Stuart Weitzman’s red tall boots with skinny heels I knew I wanted to add it to my “to be worn” collection. I love the red color and the sexy skinny heels. I can’t wait to break into this pair of boots when we can resume normal social life again.

(My new sexy red tall boots to go into my boots collection.)

Beauty

I am about to finish the Bobbie Brown eye cream I use. I want to try something new. After doing some research I decided to try BeautyBio’s “The Quench Eye Reviving Eye Balm”. It has nutrient-rich lipids to minimize the appearance of lines and improve hydration retention.

(This is the new eye cream I am trying this month.)

The Cover Image: This picture was taken last week; the first time I seeing a few of my close friends in over a year since the pandemic started.

All Posts, Fashion, Top Five

5 Things to Try This Month – January 2021

01/20/2021 Shirley

We are now beginning a new year. I hope everything will be better for everyone. If there are any take-aways from Year 2020, I’d summed up mine to two things: 1. life is unpredictable and 2. don’t take people you have in your life for granted.

Growing up I’ve always known or was told about how life doesn’t always turns out the way we want, and we have to cherish everyone and everything we have. However, as I got older, everything that went on in our daily lives seemed to validate these ideas even more so.

I don’t have any New Year resolutions for this year. I can foresee my stay-at-home life will continue for many more months this year. While I am home, I might as well utilize the time to do things that I enjoy.

Below are my five things for this month.

Nail

For me, when it comes to the nail color for the beginning of the year, there’s nothing better than red.

(Red nails for the January; hope for a great new beginning.)

Painting

I recently purchased some paint by numbers painting kits. The kit comes with a canvas marked with numbers and areas. Each number correspondeds to the paint labeled in the kit. The one I am working on is an Italian landscape. I plan to finish it in January. Once I am done with this painting I want to frame it and hang on my home office wall.

(My first paint by numbers project – Italian Landscape.)

Piano

I’ve learned how to play many of my favorite piano songs in the past few months. I want to learn more classic songs this year. I bought a new piano book, The Romantic Era Piano Album. This books has 51 songs from famous music composers, such as Chopin, Schubert, and Tchaikovsky, etc.

When the book first arrived to my home I had so much fun just to scan through the book put sticky notes on the songs I want to learn for now. It will take me months to learn them, but I am so excited to start my new learning journey.
(Here is my new piano practice book. I can’t wait to learn all the classic songs.)

(My new piano book for this year.)

Accessories

It’s no secret that I love accessories with sequins and glitters. I used to love wearing UGG boots when I went out in the cold weather. Since I am staying home everyday I rarely get the chance to wear UGG boots. My feet get cold in the morning when I’m sitting in my home office working. Nothing can beat the cozy short sequins UGG boots. If I need to light up my work mood, I know exactly where to turn my eyes to.

(My new cozy glitter boots to keep me warm.)

Reading Material

It’s always fun to start the year with a new book. The new book I plan on reading is “Meditation & Mindfulness” by Andy Puddicombe. For years, I’ve heard many people talking about how meditation help them with their well-being and health. I don’t know if meditation is for everyone, but it doesn’t hurt to understand what this is about and try to practice it to see if it makes any difference for me.

(My very first meditation book.)

The Cover Image: This picture was taken the last time I saw my nieces in person, right before the pandemic. It was a wonderful time, which I hope to resume to, soon.

All Posts, Beauty, Fashion, Top Five

5 Things to Try This Month – December 2020

12/28/2020 Shirley

It’s hard to imagine that we are already in the last month of 2020. I used to travel to somewhere else every other month in the past, but I have gotten used to staying home for social distancing since March of this year. The downside of “caving” at home is that I can hardly feel any holiday vibes at all.

My solution to the lack of holiday vibes is turning on a lot of Christmas lights at home, enjoying Eggnog liqueur and Ginger Bread liqueur with my coffee, and playing piano to make this holiday season memorable.

Below are five of the things I am doing this month to keep up my holiday spirit.

New Nails

No holiday is complete without red nails. For this month I have my nails done in red color covered with gold glitters on the thumbs, middle and pinky fingers. I used the pink glitters on my ring fingers and I also used the pink glitters on my index fingers.

(Red nails with gold and pink glitters for December 2020.)

Coffee

Nespresso released a new Chocolate Fudge coffee at the end of November. I am so glad I received it just in time for my holiday season treats. Below is one of the ways I drink the Chocolate Fudge coffee – pour the Eggnog milk in the glass first, brew the coffee over it, add whipped cream, and top it with a honeycomb cube.

To my surprise, the honeycomb cube was too dense; it sank to the bottom of the glass instantly and created the middle special layer. I guess in exchange for the perfect holiday drink picture, I got an unexpected “special effect” view.

(Nespresso’s new Chocolate Fudge coffee with Eggnog, whipped cream and honeycomb, which sank to the bottom of the glass.)

Piano Practice

For this month, I am learning the song, Rhapsodie on a Theme of Paganini, by Sergei Rachmaninoff. The first time I heard this song was in the movie Somewhere in Time. I think Somewhere in Time is a great love story and the Rhapsodie on a Theme of Paganini is a beautiful song that complements the movie well.

(This is the cover picture from one of the song tracks for the Somewhere in Time movie.)

Drink

I love to drink Ginger Bread latte during the holiday season. I got this Ginger Bread liqueur from the Trader Joe’s yesterday. I’ve had it straight over ice; it’s a bit too sweet, but I love its Ginger Bread flavor. I’ve also tried the Ginger Bread liqueur with my Nespresso Vanilla Custer Pie coffee, which was delicious. It’s even better with whipped cream on the top.

(My must-have drink ingredient for this holiday season – Ginger Bread liqueur.)

Beauty

No holiday season is complete without some new holiday beauty products. One of my favorite makeup artist, Pat McGrath, released her holiday collection, including the eyeshadow palette – Mothership Mega: Celestial Divinity. Playing with the colors in this eyeshadow palette will be a great fun activity for this month.

(The new Pat McGrath’s holiday eyeshadow – Celestial Divinity.)

All Posts, Lifestyle

Career: Challenges with Starting a New Job Remotely

12/21/2020 Shirley

I started a new job four months ago to join a start-up group within a big organization. The great thing about this job is that it’s a permanently remote position — a very good thing with COVID-19 still around.

In my past jobs, I had the privilege to work from home whenever I wanted to. However, I’ve never started a new job completely remotely with no physical in person interactions. Everything is done via voice (but not video) conferencing.

(Let’s just say I am glad that my team is not into video conferencing.)

I knew this new job would be very challenging and demanding. That’s exactly why I wanted to take on this job offer. But the first month on the job was more stressful than I expected. Our group recently launched a world-wide initiative. Everyone is scrambling to keep the wheel turning while there are new deliverables added on daily basis.

My new boss and some colleagues have been working on this program for months and they assumed I was ready since the very first week and that I already understood what was going on. The reality is that they were too busy, and so they didn’t have time to onboard and get me up to speed on anything. And there was no written documentation that I could read about what my job responsibilities are, let alone about any specific instructions. The only way to learn the job was through the trial and error.

To be honest, those first weeks were probably the most stressful time of my career life. I constantly had nightmares about not doing well on the job. For months, I couldn’t even relax on the weekends.

It took me over two months to finally got a hang of it. Looking back, I am very proud of myself for what I accomplished. I am also grateful that my boss took a chance on me and hired me for the job.

When I think about the time when I first started the job, I have a list of lessons learned.

One, never be embarrassed about asking questions to clarify an action item.

Earlier on in my career while I worked in a software training company, we taught all the new software engineers to always ask questions to clarify any questions they might have. Asking questions do not make you seem weak — it’s a sign of strength.

Two, take some time to gather your thoughts when you are being put on spot to answer a question in a group conference call.

In my opinion, when you are in a in-person conversation, your facial expression or hand gestures are enough to show the other party that you are processing the questions. But this could be very challenging over voice conferencing. Don’t cave in to provide something you are not sure about.

Third, try to take mini-breaks and a lunch break; step away from the computer.

For me, this is the hardest thing to do. We are so busy and heads down on work and meetings every day. It’s hard to step away. Since I am working from home, I can’t shake the feeling of being obligated and available when someone or my boss pings me for a question.

Four, stop worrying about the job as long as you put your best effort into it.

It took me months to finally learn how to relax since I started this new job. I was letting the job get the best of me instead letting it be part of my life.

In my opinion, working remotely has many perks, but it’s important to have a balanced life with work. After all, we only live once and we need to enjoy what we do.

All Posts, Beauty

Skin Care Remedy: What To Do When You Over-Exfoliated Your Skin

10/10/2020 Shirley

Have you ever over-exfoliated your skin and experienced a unpleasant redness, stinging, and burning sensation on your face?

If you did, I know just the right skin care remedy to resolve your over-exfoliating issue in a few days.

A few weeks ago, I mistakenly over-exfoliated my face by using products with salicylic acid, fruit acid, and lactic acid all in a one night regimen. My skin immediately turned red, and I felt stinging and burning on both cheeks and forehead. (Lesson Learned: using too many skin care acid products at once is a really bad idea!)

If you ever experience anything like I did, you’d understand the pain and agony in dealing with damaged skin. At that moment, nothing seems to help ease the pain.

Skin Remedy

Luckily, I have my favorite La Mer Moisturizing Soft Cream on hand. The La Mer cream is known for its renewal and replenishing ingredients (nutrient-rich Miracle Broth) for the skin. Eight years ago I got a deep cut on my face which left a small scar. After using the La Mer Moisturizing Soft Cream for years, I noticed that the scar has faded away.

This time, when I realized I damaged my skin from over-exfoliating, I used the La Mer Moisturizing Soft Cream immediately.

For the following week, instead of mixing products from different beauty lines (which I do often), I used La Mer Treatment Lotion, La Mer Regenerating Serum, and La Mer Moisturizing Soft Cream, day and night. The La Mer products helped to hydrate and sooth my skin, and reduced the burning pain.

Throughout the day, when I feel any discomfort and dryness on my cheeks, I’d put on Elizabeth-Arden’s Eight Hour Cream Fragrance-Free Skin Protectant. This cream also worked well when my skin turned flaky during the healing process.

(The Elizabeth-Arden’s Eight Hour Cream is one of the must-have products I keep on hand for any skin problem.)

Conclusion

To summarize, based on my personal painful experience, if you ever damage your skin (i.e. over-exfoliating, minor scaring, or sunburn), consider using the La Mer Treatment Lotion, La Mer Regenerating Serum, La Mer Moisturizing Soft Cream, and Elizabeth-Arden’s Eight Hour Cream. These products have renewal, hydrating, and protecting ingredients that help your skin to recover soon!

P.S. The La Mer products can be pricey, but they are totally worth it!

For more skin care products I recommend, visit Skin Care page.

All Posts

My Experience of Re-learning How to Play Piano

07/27/2020 Shirley

It has been a month since I picked up playing the piano again after I quit it when I was 13 year old. So far, my experience of playing the piano this time has been very rewarding and self-fulfilling.

In the past year, I was contemplating on the idea of getting a piano and playing again. I was afraid that my enthusiasm might not last long and the piano will end up collecting dust at home. I finally made the bold decision and bought a piano last month.

The night before the piano was delivered, I pulled out all of my old piano music notebooks. I started panicking, because I forgot how to read the right-hand music notes. I had to go on the internet to re-learn it.

When the piano finally arrived, I started to play it. The first twenty minutes of playing the piano was intense; I was afraid that I might not able to recall the songs I once knew and I’d waste the money for nothing.

Luckily, as I played the easy songs I learned when I was a child, things slowly came back to me. The overwhelming fear of doubts drifted away as I heard the correct sounds coming from the instrument with each key I pressed.

As minutes passed by, my confidence started building up. I became very excited and wanted to play more.

When I was a child I got frustrated when I had difficult time playing any part of a song. But as an adult, I am now more patient when I get stuck on the challenging parts of the songs. I know it’s all about repetition and practicing. And I understand what people mean by muscle memory when it comes to playing an instrument. I can see the improvements I make on the new pieces I played the day before.

(This is a picture of my old music sheet book showing one of my favorite songs, Mariage d’Amour by Richard Clayderman, with the flowers from our backyard.)

I’d never imaged that one day I would become so enthusiastic about playing the piano. I now play it three times a day; practicing the songs I learned in the past (including Mariage d’Amour and Für Elise) and I’m learning how to play the new ones (such as Clair de Lune). Playing the piano now, especially when it comes to new songs, is about the process of learning and making improvements, rather than completing a music song in limited time. I found playing the piano very soothing and pleasant. This is something I didn’t realize when I was a child. I thank my parents for giving me the opportunity to learn how to play the piano when I was a child, so I can have the foundation to play it on my own at home, now.

To summarize, learning how to play piano is just like learning everything else. You can achieve your goals as long as you put effort into practicing, focus on the learning process, and enjoy the fun time. Be a growth minded person, don’t run away when things get challenging, face it with a can-do attitude and you can overcome the difficulties.

All Posts, Top Five

5 Things to Try This Month – June 2020

06/20/2020 Shirley

What do I like about June? Well, for sure, I like the sunny weather. And the second thing I like about June is the flowers blooming in our yard.

Before this year, I didn’t pay much attention to the plants we have. But staying home in the past few months gave me the opportunity to appreciate the pleasant view we have. When I need a mini-break from doing whatever I am working on, I’ll walk to the backyard and look at the roses, peonies, and water lily. It’s amazing to see their transformation from tiny buds to fully bloomed colorful flowers.

Below are five of the many things I am doing in June.

New Nails

The salons in our area are now open. Although I miss my beautiful gel nails, I still prefer to staying home to be safe. So I did my own nails again.

I used bright pink nail polish as the base color. I put blue and pink glitters on most of my fingers. On my ring finger I used gold glitters just for fun. Overall, I am actually very happy with my own work.

(Picture of the nails I did for this month.)

Cooking

I love to eat any kind of pasta. I’ve been craving for spaghetti carbonara and found the recipe online. I was surprised at how easy it was to make it from scratch. All I needed was the garlic, bacon, Parmesan cheese, egg, and spaghetti.

(My first homemade spaghetti carbonara.)

New Toy

I haven’t played piano for a long time. I learned how to play piano when I was a child and I quit when I was 13 year old. In the past year, I was contemplating on the idea of getting a piano and playing again. But I was afraid that I might not be able to remember how to play the piano. I finally bought the piano and have been playing it everyday.

(This is a picture I took today; my old music sheet book with the flowers from our backyard.)

Beauty Products

I really enjoy using Charlotte Tilbury’s beauty products. For June, I am going to try her Goddess Cleansing Ritual cleaning products to see if it does really hydrate, clean, and give my skin radiant-looking complexion. As always, I know I will have fun trying new products.

(Picture of Charlotte Tuilbury’s Goddess Cleansing Ritual cleaning products.)

Reading Material

I always enjoy reading biography. I find it interesting to read other people’s life story, how they get to where they are today, and how they overcome the obstacles in their life and the lessons they learned along the way.

The new book I am reading is called “The Ride of A Lifetime”, by Robert Iger, the Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company. I am only on the first chapter of the book and I am already looking forward to reading the rest.

All Posts, Top Five

5 Things to Try This Month – May 2020

05/22/2020 Shirley

We are now officially in Spring. It seems like a great time to try new skin care routines at home. After using the new night serum last month and seeing my smiling line wrinkles become a little bit less visible, I am motivated to try a new skin care product that might give my dry skin the hydration it thirsts for.

Here are some of the things I am doing in May.

New Nails

I used to get my gel nails done in the salon every four weeks in the past year. It has been two months since my last gel nails appointment. I am not quite used to seeing my nails without any colors.

I bought some new regular nail polish last week and I am ready to keep up with the nail color work myself until I can get to my next appointment.

(My nails in red and glitters.)

Baking

There’s a shortage for baking yeast right now, because more people are baking at home now. Since I am short of yeast, I am switching from making bread to baking cake. This will cover my daily breakfast with my morning coffee.

(My homemade white cake with colorful sprinkles to cheer my morning.)

New Entertainment

A few months ago Nintendo released a new Switch game, called Animal Crossing New Horizons. My brother’s family has been playing this while they are staying home. They’ve been telling me how great the Animal Crossing game is and they bought me the game, so I can join them for the family fun. Both the new game console and game will arrive in the next few days. I can’t wait to start to play.

(Picture of the the residents in my Animal Crossing New Horizons game.)

New Beauty

Charlotte Tuilbury is one of my favorite makeup artists. I’ve been using her Magic Cream as makeup primer and Multi-Miracle Glow Cleanser, Mask, and Balm as night mask in the past two years. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Charlotte Tuilbury’s Magic Night Cream and I plan to use it as my night moisturizer this month to see if it’s as hydrating as it advertises.

(The picture of Charlotte Tuilbury’s Magic Day and Night Cream.)

Home Improvement

I never pictured myself as a capable home improvement person. However, I recently managed to fix a leakage in my toilet tank myself vs. hiring a plummet who gave me an estimate of $500. The cost of fixing it myself was $8 for the replacement parts and a couple hours of my time. I now have a functional toilet, and I also gained some confidence with fixing minor problems at home.

I just discovered there’s a minor flushing issue with another toilet at home. My plan for this month is to buy parts and try to fix it myself. It’s going to be a fun challenge while staying at home.

(Picture of the parts for my May home improvement project.)

The Cover Image: This picture was taken in my backyard. I was wearing a purple sweater with a fuchsia lip gloss and drinking my favorite Long Shadows Cabernet Sauvignon Feather.

All Posts, Beauty

Skin Care Remedy: The Must-Have Magic Cream

04/14/2020 Shirley

What product do you use to prepare your skin for makeup?

When it comes to putting makeup foundation on my face, I love to use Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream to hydrate my skin first. After applying the Magic Cream to my face, my skin instantly looks awake and glowing. And the Magic Cream keeps my makeup looking smooth and refresh.

The Magic Cream by Charlotte Tilbury is a facial moisturizer, which can be used for either day or night. It has a mix of anti-aging and collagen stimulating ingredients. It’s also the product Charlotte uses to prepare celebrities’ red carpet look.

I use the Magic Cream mainly to prepare my skin before I apply the makeup. Once in a while, I will use the Magic Cream as my day moisturizer.

How did I hear about the Magic Cream? A few years ago, I attended a Charlotte Tilbury’s hands-on makeup event, led by one of their product line’s international makeup artists. I learned many great things about Charlotte Tilbury’s skin care products and makeup items. Since then, I started to use the Magic Cream as part of my makeup routine.

In my opinion, the Magic Cream not only hydrates my skin it also serves as a skin protector. I’ve accidentally fallen asleep with my makeup on a couple of times. When I woke up in the morning, my skin still felt hydrated, because I used the Magic Cream prior to applying the foundation. Before I started using the Magic Cream, leaving makeup on overnight would irritate my skin the next morning.

To summarize, Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream is a great skin care product that serves as a daily moisturizer and makeup preparation product. The wonder of this cream lives exactly up to its name, “Magic Cream”. If you haven’t tried the Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream, I’d highly recommend that you get one and experience the magic yourself.

For more skin care products I recommend you to try, visit Skin Care page.

All Posts, Beauty, Fashion, Top Five

5 Things to Try This Month – April 2020

04/09/2020 Shirley

April marks the beginning of the second month of pandemic social distancing. I am very grateful that most of my friends and I are home safely with our loved ones. But my heart goes out to the people who are being affected by this unfortunate event, especially to those who lost a family member or friend.

While I am sheltered safely at home with my elderly parents, a couple of my friends have family members working on the front lines, such as hospitals and essential businesses. They are risking their health and lives to save people and provide the services that keep us going. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for anyone seeing their loved ones go out for work and face uncertainty every day.

I really hope this pandemic transmission will slow down and be under control soon, so people can feel safe to resume their regular lives again.

Below are some of the things I will be doing this month at home. Most of them are related to what I can do while I am staying home.

Baking

I am so glad I bought a new bread maker machine during the past holiday. We eat a lot of bread at home every day, so I’ve been making a new loaf of bread every two days. My recent favorite bread to make is oatmeal with raisin.

(This is the oatmeal bread with raisin, my latest favorite.)

New Beauty

I could never resist the temptation of the new lipsticks, especially when it comes to glitters. Dior recently launched new Addict Stellar Halo Shine lipsticks and lip glosses. These new lip products have extra shimmering and shine. The must-get signature color in these collections is “Be Dior”, which was first released last year for the Addict Stellar Shine lipsticks.

(New Dior Addict Stellar Halo Shine lipsticks and lip glosses.)

Concert

Last October I bough tickets for my mom, aunts, and I to go watch Celine Dion’s concert at the Tacoma Dome (in Tacoma, Washington) scheduled for April 15. Due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the show has been rescheduled. I am so glad that I went to watch Celine Dion’s show in Las Vegas two different times last year and recorded most part of her show on my phone. Although I can’t watch her in person this year, I have the ability to watch her fantastic show at my fingertips.

(The picture of Celine Dion I took during her concert in Las Vegas. I was standing right in front of the stage at that time.)

Reading Material

There’s no better time for self improvement than now. For this month I am reading the book, “A Mind for Numbers”. The author of this book explains how our mind works, and emphasizes the most effective and efficient techniques for learning. The techniques can be applied to anything you want to learn, not limited to math or science only.

(The book I am reading this month.)

New Beauty

As I age, it’s impossible to avoid getting facial wrinkles. However, there are skin care products we can use to make wrinkles less visible. For example, BeautyBio’s “R45 The Reversal” three-phase serum. The product is intended for nighttime use. Each phase of the serum lasts about two weeks. Once you finish the phase 1, you move on to phase 2, then phase 3. I am currently using this serum. It will be interesting to see if it makes any difference after I finish using this product.

(The BeautyBio Serum I am currently using.)

The Cover Image: I am wearing Chanel’s Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte lipstick in color “347 Camelia Fuchsia”. I love this fuchsia/bright pink lipstick as well as its camellia motif embossed on the bottom. For the day time look, this lipstick color goes well with this See by Chloe jean dress.

Shirley Style

Category Archives: All Posts

5 Things to Try This Month – February 2021

5 Things to Try This Month – January 2021

5 Things to Try This Month – December 2020

Career: Challenges with Starting a New Job Remotely

Skin Care Remedy: What To Do When You Over-Exfoliated Your Skin

My Experience of Re-learning How to Play Piano

5 Things to Try This Month – June 2020

5 Things to Try This Month – May 2020

Skin Care Remedy: The Must-Have Magic Cream

5 Things to Try This Month – April 2020

Fashion Blog

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Fashion Blog